Magic Johnson Talks About His Son EJ’s Coming Out

Magic Johnson is a known ladies man, so when his son decided to come out, of course it was a big deal.

EJ Johnson came out to Magic back in 2010, and at first, Magic wasn’t too pleased about the decision.

EJ and his Dad looked back on the experience with Variety:

“It wasn’t new for me, but they had to really take that in and digest it,” EJ told the outlet.

“Especially my dad, because he was really the last person to talk to. I think it was just a lot for him to swallow in that conversation. A lot of just going back and forth. And he just was rattling off about things that weren’t particularly nice. But he’s not somebody who works great being cornered or surprised,” he continued.

“When you grow up in team sports, you’re thinking, ‘Is he gonna play sports?’ And then when I saw that he liked dolls and to play dress-up… ‘What are you doing?’” Read about @MagicJohnson's coming to terms with gay son, EJ, from our friends at @Variety.https://t.co/4b0c7VMckf

— SPY.com (@spy_dot) April 7, 2022

But not everybody has been so accepting.

“You get the other side too,” Johnson says. “A lot of people don’t love that I love my son.”

Still, that doesn’t matter to Johnson.

“He changed me,” Johnson says of EJ. “He was so proud. This dude here is just so proud of who he is.

“As I grew older, as my wife talked to me, I couldn’t [judge EJ]. I had to accept who he was and who he wanted to be. He actually helped me get there. Because he was so proud. Cookie said, ‘Look in the mirror.’ I said, ‘You’re right.’ Because I’m proud of who I am. And he got it from me.”

Magic’s son said that while his friends knew of his sexual orientation at the time, his parents were “the last people” he told.

This is all to promote the April 22 release of “They Call Me Magic,” an Apple TV Plus docuseries that covers his life and career.

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