EJ Johnson talks living authentically and being happy to see Zaya Wade doing the same

: “I’m not looking for validation,” EJ Johnson discusses embracing femininity and supporting Zaya Wade amid similar criticism.

EJ Johnson, Magic Johnson’s child, is opening up about owning their identity, the comfort of feminine expression, and sharing the solidarity they find with Dwyane Wade’s daughter Zaya. 

For as long as the public has known Earvin “EJ” Johnson III, born to NBA legend Magic Johnson and entrepreneur Cookie Johnson, the conversation around them has often centered on expectations. But in a recent interview with media personality Carlos King, EJ made it clear: they’re not here to fulfill anyone else’s idea of masculinity, legacy, or identity. And they’re certainly not looking for permission.

During the interview, EJ opened up about where they are today in their gender journey, sharing that they no longer resonate with he/him pronouns, and haven’t for a long time. 

“I told them on my birthday in June. We’re not doing ‘he,’ we’re not doing ‘man,’ we’re not doing ‘gay,’” Johnson told King about a conversation they had with their parents. “It was very freeing. And also it just was.”

They continued, “When you’re telling people about who you are, you are telling them. You’re not looking for acceptance. I’m not looking for validation, I’m telling you what’s going down. We had that conversation, and it was very easy because I just told them flat-out: this is who I am, and this is how we’re moving, grooving, and going forward. Even ‘son,’ I was like, the world tried to give me that label: Magic Johnson’s son. He’s dead. And now there’s Miss Thing.”

According to EJ, their parents’ response was simple and supportive in its own way, saying, “Oh ok. We’ll do our best to understand that.” 

And while Johnson appreciated their response and support, the former reality star explained they were never seeking acceptance, at least not from Black communities online. Addressing social media critics who have long argued that, as Magic Johnson’s child, they should have followed a different path, the influencer says, “Who cares?”

“If your community is mad, let them be mad,” they continued. But I always thought that was stupid that they thought I was supposed to be playing basketball or something. First of all, do you know how difficult it is to become an NBA player? It’s a very hard process. If I wanted to do that, I would have done that. But why are we even having this discussion?”

The conversation also turned to Zaya Wade, who came out as transgender in 2020 at 12 years old and has faced her own share of public scrutiny. Through EJ is queer and gender-fluid, as the fellow child of an NBA star, they discussed parallels in their experiences: 

“We have some similarities, but it’s one of those things where it’s like, there’s nothing really I can say or do, because that’s your journey,” EJ continued. “And they also said some horrible and stupid things about her, and the same thing they [said] were the horrible, stupid things they were saying about me. So it’s like, here we are again.”

“I’m not going up against anything that I actually really need to be concerned about, because these are all everybody else’s fears and everybody else’s concerns and everybody else’s viewpoints of the world that are being challenged by somebody living their truth or living their life the way they want to live it,” they concluded. “It’s just absurd. But I’m happy that she’s happy. I wish her the best.”