What You Don't Know About Magic Johnson's Son EJ

You've probably heard his name floating around the internet at some point over the last few
years, but what's the real deal with EJ Johnson?
The son of Earvin "Magic" Johnson is a rising star of reality television who's been serving
up a whole lot of fashion — and drama — on E!'s Rich Kids of Beverly Hills and his spin-off,
EJNYC.
Now with those basics out of the way, here's what you need to know about EJ Johnson.
Fame of the father
Growing up as the son of an NBA legend made EJ a natural in front of the camera.
He told Out Magazine in 2014, "Obviously, my family's always been in the spotlight.
I've always loved being in front of people, being on stage and performing.
I love the attention.
I love everything about it."
EJ is the only biological child of Magic and wife Earlitha "Cookie" Johnson, who adopted
a daughter name Elisa in 1995.
EJ is named after his father — the initials are short for Earvin Johnson III — and has
an older half-brother named Andre as well.
Forced to come out
In 2013, EJ Johnson came out publicly as gay after TMZ posted a video of him holding hands
with his best friend, Alessandro Monetti, whom the site claimed at the time was actually
his boyfriend.
Despite the aggressive outing by the tabloids, EJ took the experience in stride, saying,
"I always wanted to come into the spotlight.
I always had dreams and plans of doing my own thing and creating my own image, so it
came a little sooner than I thought it would but this is still something I knew I would
be going through and would have to experience."
For their part, EJ's family was very supportive of him during that time.
When TMZ's story broke, Magic issued a statement to the tabloid site, saying, "Cookie and I
love EJ and support him in every way.
We're very proud of him."
EJ later credited his parents with making the coming out process easy for him, saying,
"I am very, very, very blessed to have the family that I do.
My parents have always been super supportive.
My sister and I have always been really close and she's been really supportive as with my
brother.
When it was time to come out, I was, obviously, scared as most people are.
After I got all the love and support from my family then I knew I could go out and conquer
the world, I guess."
It helped, of course, that the revelation wasn't exactly news to his parents at the
time.
He'd already come out to his mother as a teenager before revealing the news to his father a
year later.
"I had to stop wanting him to be who I wanted him to be and just let him be himself."
Making a name
Almost instantly after TMZ published their video, Johnson became a viral sensation.
Headlines across the web touted his outing, but instead of shrinking away from the attention,
Johnson stepped eagerly into the spotlight and took full advantage of his newfound fame.
After a successful first season on Rich Kids of Beverly Hills, Johnson parlayed his breakout
status into not only a renewed contract for the second season, but also an overall deal
with E! that included stints on two of the networks other properties.
After completing four seasons on Rich Kids as well as proving himself elsewhere on the
network, E! gave Johnson his own spinoff show, called EJNYC.
Originally titled EJ and the City, the show follows Johnson, his little sister, Elisa,
and their high-class crew as they live the fabulous life others can only dream of.
Slimming down
Johnson — who once weighed about 360 pounds — underwent gastric sleeve surgery in early
2015.
He revealed on the season finale of Rich Kids of Beverly Hills that he's lost about 180
pounds since the procedure, saying, "The surgery was definitely the best thing that ever happened
to me.
I never thought that I'd look this good, and that is the God's honest truth."
Johnson went on to tell Page Six of the weight loss:
"It's a totally new mindset.
I'm completely dedicated to living a new, healthy lifestyle."
Johnson also discussed his new diet regimen.
"I really think it's important that you not listen to so many fads; you really need to
find what works for you.
But that doesn't mean you're done after that because you don't like what's hot.
You need to get creative."
Considering a transition
In 2015, EJ admitted to a therapist that he considered transitioning into a woman after
Caitlyn Jenner made her world debut on the cover of Vanity Fair.
He said, "I've always been very fashion-forward.
I've always definitely mixed men's and women's fashion in my life, but I never thought that
it would raise so many questions about my own gender.
I never really thought it was under investigation.
Sometimes it's hard being in the middle, kind of in the gray area in my own lane.
Now, since everybody's talking about Caitlyn Jenner and being transgender, people are so
quick to say, 'Oh, just because you're dressing like that means that you're going to transition
to become a woman.'"
Ultimately, he decided against transitioning because he didn't feel the need.
"I thought about it, for sure.
I was just like, 'Well, do I want to transition?
Is this something that I would do?'
But I don't feel incomplete in that way.
I don't feel the need."
Becoming a role model
Johnson is all about fashion and bling.
But he's also aware that, as a public figure who is a member of two minority groups, there's
a certain social responsibility that comes with his status.
When talking about his role as the Celebrity Grand Marshall of the San Francisco Gay Pride
Parade, Johnson said,
"Whether it's the African-American community, or in my case, the gay community, it's important
to make sure that we represent those communities in a positive way."
And he recognizes how lucky he his to be able to live freely, saying, "I'm fortunate that
I'm in a world where I can do what I want to do and walk down the street in whatever
I want to wear and break those walls down."
To help others who might not be as fortunate or surrounded by a strong support system,
Johnson offered some advice to other LGBT kids.
He told BET, "I say dance around in your closet when no one is looking until the time is right.
Try your hardest to work towards getting to a place within yourself or the country where
you can go and express yourself and come back and tell your story.
"That's something my dad always told me: Make sure you check your surroundings and be you,
do you, but make sure you're not putting yourself in dangerous situations where you could get
hurt."
That's some solid wisdom that proves it's not all tiaras and bling with EJ Johnson.
Just...mostly.
"I always get my way from mom."
"Yeah, I guess I'm a daddy's girl, and he's a mommy's...girl."
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What You Don't Know About Magic Johnson's Son EJ

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