I Love A Success Story - EJ Johnson

EJ Johnson Is ‘Not Just Some Other Rich Girl’

By Michael Schulman

Sept. 2, 2017

Magic Johnson’s son was outed as gay by TMZ, then became a reality show star. All of 25, he is now embracing his role as a gender-flouting role model.

EJ Johnson
Photo: Molly Matalon for The New York Times

“Today we are talking about breaking boundaries,” EJ Johnson declared from the stage of Beautycon, a two-day cosmetics festival held in August at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The 25-year-old son of Magic Johnson was moderating a panel called “The Gender Revolution,” and he was dressed for the part: black silk pants, crop top, sleeveless duster.

We are talking about people who are not afraid to live their truth,” he continued, in a white armchair flanked by neon palm trees. “That is what beauty is all about, because it is in the eye of the beholder, honey.”
He introduced the panelists: young beauty “influencers” who, like Mr. Johnson, belong to a generation whose vocabulary for gender and sexual identity has stretched to include every conceivable hue. One of them, a gender-fluid 17-year-old YouTube star named Brendan Jordan, said, “I get asked if I’m a boy or a girl a lot. I’m just like, ‘Yes.’”