Ava Phillippe, daughter of actress Reese Witherspoon, marked the start of Pride Month with a throwback photo from her pink hair era.
“Once upon a time, some gal on the internet said ‘gender is whatever’ in reference to her own sexuality,” Ava, 24, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, June 1, alongside a photo of her next to a lake waving a pride flag, with her hair dyed pink.
“Many took her words out of context, but she knew what she meant. Anyways, this is her posting for the first day of pride month 2024. 🌈✨🪩🫶🏻,” she concluded.
In her caption, Ava referenced a comment she made during a Q&A via her Instagram Story in January 2022, wherein she was asked whether she liked “boys or girls.” Ava casually responded that she is “attracted to… people!” and added in parentheses, “Gender is whatever.”
Shortly after she made these comments, Ava addressed the “hateful” social messages she received as a result. “Quick reminder: I can & will block profiles commenting bigoted/hateful messages under my posts,” the influencer and artist wrote via her Instagram Story at the time. “My Instagram profile is not a place for cruelty/hate speech & I intend to do what I can to keep it that way. Peace & love.”
Ava has plenty of experience dealing with online haters. She addressed her critics on TikTok last month after she faced criticism of her tattoos. (Ava has four tattoos on her arms: a black “Admit One” ticket, a flower and another delicate symbol on her wrist. In addition, she has three birds tatted on her left arm, as well as a feather and a shell.)
In the video, she acted over a popular sound on the app that says, “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks but you.” She captioned the video, “When strangers online say they hate my tattoos… 🤷🏼♀️ #wronggirl #sorrynotsorry.”
She first showed off her body art in April while posing with Witherspoon at a Tiffany & Co. Celebration in Beverly Hills. (Witherspoon shares Ava and son Deacon, 20, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe. She also shares son Tennessee, 11, with ex-husband Jim Toth.)
Ava credits her aloof attitude toward “strangers online” to a lesson her mother taught her. “A big saying in the South, especially amongst women is ‘Pretty is as pretty does.’ Every time that comes up in my brain or I see people being critical of others online for their appearance, I just always think, you’re only as beautiful as you treat other people,” she told People in April. “I think that you glow from within when you’re a good person.”
