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While appearing on an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Magic Johnson was asked what advice he would give to a parent who is dealing with the news that their child is gay.

EJ Johnson

Johnson has three children. A son named Andre from a previous relationship, and with wife “Cookie,” he has son EJ (Earvin III) and daughter Elisa, who the couple adopted in 1995. Son EJ is openly gay and has created quite a following for himself on social media and on reality television, including the E! series Rich Kids of Beverly Hills and his spinoff, EJNYC. 

As EJ told PEOPLE a few years ago, he came out to Cookie first when he was around 13 or 14, and a year later, he did the same with his father. According to him, “after I got all the love and support from my family, I knew I could go out and conquer the world.”

And EJ sure has conquered in his mesh ensembles, thigh-high boots and sequined booty shorts. Just fabulous, child.

EJ Johnson

Knowing how their support impacted EJ in such a positive way, Johnson’s advice to other parents of LGBTQ children is to be there. If you aren’t, who will be?

“I think it’s all about you not trying to decide what your daughter or son should be or what you want them to become,” Johnson told DeGeneres. “It’s all about loving them no matter who they are, what they decide to do. And when my son came out, I was so happy for him and happy for us as parents. We love him. EJ is amazing. So you’ve got to support your child, because it’s so many people who try to discriminate against them, so they need you to support them. Because if you don’t support them, who is going to support them? And love them?”

Check out his chat with Ellen about such serious matters, as well as lighter ones, including his regrets about the one business venture he backed out on: Investing in Nike.

Images via WENN and Getty  

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