Ava Phillippe Celebrates Pride Month with Nod to a Past Remark About Her Sexuality — Plus Her 'Haters'

Ava Phillippe is kicking off Pride Month her way!

On Saturday, June 1, the daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe celebrated the first day of Pride Month with an Instagram post nodding to her past comments about sexuality and gender — and another one dedicated to her haters.

Alongside a throwback photo of herself twirling a pride flag (during her pink hair era!), the influencer and artist, 24, shared a message with her million followers: “Once upon a time, some gal on the internet said ‘gender is whatever’ in reference to her own sexuality.”

"Many took her words out of context, but she knew what she meant,” she continued. “Anyways, this is her posting for the first day of pride month 2024. 🌈✨🪩🫶🏻.”

Her post — which received love from everyone from Dylan Mulvaney to Alyssa Milano — referenced a comment she made while doing an "Ask Me Anything" session on her Instagram Stories more than two years ago.

In January 2022, Ava wrote a casual response to a fan who asked, "Do u like boys or girls?" revealing that she is “attracted to… people!” and adding in parentheses, “Gender is whatever.”

The comment, which Ava shared in the context of her own sexuality, made headlines and, in her own words, was taken “out of context.”

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But, regardless of how her comments about sexuality were — and are — received, Ava is living her best, unbothered life this Pride Month.

In a newly shared Instagram Stories post, Ava continued her message alongside a smiley, beachside selfie, writing, “Happy #PrideMonth to: the haters engaging with my content & making me a lil $,” and -

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jokingly adding, “That’s what I call an ally!”

Also in reference to her “haters,” she also wished a happy Pride Month to “the block button,” before wrapping on an earnest note.

“& of course, my LGBTQ+ community 🫶🏻🌈,” she added. “Now it’s back to enjoying this beautiful beach…”

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Last month, Ava called out some of her haters for a different reason: body-shaming. On May 3, she shared a photo of herself and her dog, Benji, on her Instagram Stories and wrote: “Bodyshaming is toxic behavior (Asked Benji and he agrees)."

"So maybe just... don't do that??” she added.

This post came on the heels of a TikTok that Ava shared tackling the same issue. In the video, she declared that the artist had hit a “major milestone” as a woman on the internet.

"I saw 2 different strangers commenting on my body,” Ava wrote. "The first said I should get on Oz*mpic because I'm too fat... The second accused me of starving myself because I'm too thin..."

"My weight did not change in the time period between their comments," she continued, adding that "it wouldn't be any of their business if it did!" and “it's such b-------.”

In the caption, Ava added that body-shaming is “toxic behavior,” and her actress mom Witherspoon gave her stamp of approval in the comments, writing, “Yes to all of this 💋.”

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