One could not live in Los Angeles in the early 1990s and not know about the LA Lakers. So when basketball great Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive in 1991, the rafters and the ground beneath our feet shook. To many, he was the biggest star since Rock Hudson to come out as having the disease - about which there was tremendous fear and little hope. Johnson's wife Cookie was pregnant with their son EJ, but both mother and son were HIV negative. Johnson got on life-saving medications and went on to become an extremely successful businessman, form his own AIDS foundation and around 2005, partner with AIDS Healthcare Foundation to open a number of HIV clinics.
On Tuesday, TMZ interviewed EJ, 20, and his boyfriend as they were walking along Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood. It's considered an official "coming out" - but anyone who glances at EJ's Twitter account (@prince_ej) where he writes: "Dear Twitter, I am fierce royalty and you better recognize. The concrete is my runway. forever fierce forever fabulous forever flawless. Beverly Hills," might suspect he's been gay for a while.
In an extensive interview with TMZ, Johnson says he's "proud" of his son - whom he asked directly whether he was gay when EJ was 12 or 13.
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