Busy Philipps announced that her oldest child, Birdie, is gay and uses they/them pronouns.- Birdie, 12, came out as gay to their parents when they were 10, but shared their pronouns with their mom more recently, Philipps said on her podcast "Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best."
- "I have this public persona, and I want Birdie to be in control of their own narrative," Philipps said of why she waited to share Birdie's identity with the world.
Busy Philipps announced her eldest child, Birdie, is gay and uses they/them pronouns.
Philipps, 41, told her fans about Birdie's coming out on a recent episode of her podcast, "Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best," which she co-hosts with Caissie St. Onge and Shantira Jackson.
According to Philipps, Birdie, 12, came out to their parents as gay when they were 10 years old.
"Birdie told us at 10 years old and we immediately... I mean obviously, I knew that Birdie knew," Philipps said of Birdie's coming out, making clear that she and her husband, Marc Silverstein, didn't question Birdie's announcement.
Birdie spoke to their mom about their pronouns more recently, as Philipps said later in the podcast.
Read more: What you should know about gender pronouns, how to use them, and why they're important
"Birdie said that they would like their pronouns to be they/them, and I haven't been doing it," Philipps said candidly, explaining that she wanted to protect Birdie's privacy.
"I have this public persona, and I want Birdie to be in control of their own narrative and not have to answer to anybody outside of our friends and family if they don't want to," she said.
But Birdie and Philipps had a heart-to-heart about sharing Birdie's identity with the world after Philipps found her eldest lying on the floor of their room, listening to Harry Styles' "Fine Line" album, as she relayed on the podcast.
During the conversation, Birdie told their mom they don't mind if their mom talks about their identity publicly.
"Bird was like, 'I don't give a f---,'" Philipps said of her child. "'You can talk about how I'm gay and out, you can talk about my pronouns. That would be cool with me.'"
After Birdie confirmed it was okay with them, Philipps decided to share their announcement on the podcast.
"So Birdie, my out kid, prefers they/them," Philipps summed up. "I f--- up sometimes, but I'm trying my best at that, too."
Philipps shares Birdie and their younger sister Cricket Pearl, 7, with Silverstein.
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