EJ Johnson burst onto the scene as one of Hollywood’s most visible and famous gay stars back in 2013 when he came out as gay. Since then, Johnson’s famous parents, Magic and Cookie Johnson, have been nothing but supportive of their son as he’s lived unabashedly out and proud. However, in a new set of interviews, Johnson’s mother explains that it wasn’t always easy for her to accept her son’s sexuality and interests.
In one interview, both Cookie and Magic spoke about realizing during Johnson’s younger years that he was different from other boys and that they struggled to come to terms with the idea that their son was gay.
“I had to come to realize that he is who he is and he’s going to be happy,” Magic said. “I knew he was looking for me to accept who he was and I had to get out of my own way and out of my macho [mentality].”’
Cookie shared similar thoughts, explaining that she struggled to balance her Christian beliefs with her desire to accept her son as he is.
“That was a very hard thing for me. I tried everything, but finally I just said to myself, ‘This child is innocent. He was like this when he was a baby, it can’t be wrong. It can’t be wrong,'” Cookie said.
“We know that religion says no, and I did have a big problem with that,” Cookie explained. “Ultimately, I just prayed to God and said God, ‘You reveal to me how you feel about this,’ and he was like ‘Love. Love your child.’ And that’s what I ― that’s what Jesus was about: love.”
In another interview, Cookie spoke again about accepting and loving her son and she explained that she tried to hide her son’s sexuality from Magic.
“I have pictures of all the Little League stuff I put him in and the baseball teams and the football teams. And it just wasn’t his thing. Ultimately you want your child to be happy. But I also knew that Earvin [Magic] didn’t understand. And I was still trying to figure it out,” Magic said.
Cookie added, “I’m not going to sit here and say that I understood that he was gay at that time, because I didn’t. I just knew that this is what made him happy. And as time went on, it never changed.”
Well, we commend Cookie and Magic for being trailblazers and showing that, despite stereotypes, homophobia and effimiphobia do not have to be the standard in Black American families.
