Rosie O'Donnell On How Her Child Came Out As Nonbinary

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2 days ago

Rosie O'Donnell opened up for the first time about her child coming out as nonbinary.
In a conversation with Variety about her role as a Mary in the third season of And Just Like That..., Rosie discussed when her child, Clay, 12, disclosed their gender identity to her. Rosie described it as "the most interesting thing."
"I have a little one who is nonbinary — 12 years old — and it was the most interesting thing," the actor and comedian said. "They said to me, 'Mommy, I'm nonbinary. I'm not a boy and I'm not a girl.' I said, 'Okay, fantastic.'"
"They go, 'My pronouns are they/them, and I'd like them respected.' I will do my very best, right? Who are they, Harvey Milk reincarnated?" Rosie added.
If you didn't know, Rosie is a parent to five children: Clay, Vivieene, 22, Blake, 25, Chelsea, 27, and Parker, 30.
In a March 20 TikTok, Rosie confirmed that she's officially living in Ireland and is "proud and impressed" with her child Clay's adjustment to the big change. "It's not easy to move to another country, and we really felt as a family this was the safest and best thing for us to do."
Talking with Variety, Rosie also said the conversation led to her child asking if she was nonbinary. "I said, 'Well, you know what, honey, I'm an O.G. lesbian. I'm a girl who knew I was a girl, who liked being a girl, but didn't feel like a real girl. But I never wanted to be a boy. I never thought about boys. I was only always thinking about girls.' And then they said, "What did your class say when you told them?"
Rosie then explained that the expression of sexuality and gender was very different when she was a kid in the 70s. "Can you imagine? They have no understanding of what it was like when I was 10 in 1972 and nobody mentioned it. The word was not said — you would never admit it."
"You'd go to church and hear horrible things about people like you, and Billie Jean [King] and Martina [Navratilova] had to disclaim their lesbianism and pretend they were not gay in order to continue working on the tennis circuit, and that was so painful for me when I was a 10-year-old. They didn't understand. I've been trying to explain to them what it was like when I was a kid, and they are stunned."
As a millennial who is queer and nonbinary, it's important to note that the reason it's much different for younger generations like Clay and myself can be attributed to people like Rosie.
I grew up watching Rosie in A League of Their Own, The Flintstones, Wide Awake, Harriet the Spy (my favorite), and her talk shows. When she publicly came out, it was the first time I saw someone accepting who they truly are despite opposition. It provided me with a blueprint to begin my journey of self-discovery years ago, and these journeys continue for the younger generations, thanks to folks like Rosie.
"It was really a strange time to be out of the closet to everyone in show business who knew me personally — and in my life, everyone knew and I had children. Once you have children, you're out! Because you go with your partner to the school meetings," Rosie told the publication.
"I was out to everyone except the public. And I often thought it was surprising that when I did come out, people were surprised. 'Well, you like Tom Cruise.' I didn't want him naked in my bed! I wanted him to mow my lawn and give me a lemonade. How many times do I have to say that?"
Oh, Rosie. You did it for me again. Some of us really need to see and hear these conversations. 😂 Thank you.