One of Robert De Niro's seven kids recently came out as trans, and the Goodfellas actor has made clear that he's 100% on board. "I loved and supported Aaron as my son, and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter," the 81-year-old said in a statement, per Variety. "I don't know what the big deal is. I love all my children." The outlet reports that De Niro's remarks came after the 29-year-old Airyn chatted with Them, an LGBTQ advocacy site, about "stepping into this new identity" in the trans world, noting that she first came out as a gay man in high school.
"I didn't even fit that beauty standard," Airyn noted. "Too big, not skinny enough. Not Black enough, not white enough. Too feminine, not masculine enough. It was never just, 'You're just right, just the way you are.'" Airyn cited transgender actor Laverne Cox as being one of her inspirations for finally accepting her own trans identity, noting, "Trans women being honest and open, especially [in] public spaces like social media and getting to see them in their success ... I'm like, you know what? Maybe it's not too late for me."
Airyn, who started hormone therapy in November, also dishes about growing up with dad De Niro and mom Toukie Smith. "Obviously no parent is perfect, but I am grateful that both my parents agreed to keep me out of the limelight," she told Them. "They wanted it very private. They have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible."
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BuzzFeed rounds up reaction to Robert De Niro's support for his daughter, who has a twin brother, Julian. "If a 100 year-old Italian man can have love and acceptance in his heart, so can you," wrote one admirer. "Unproblematic legend," noted another. A third posted, "The fact that being a good father is news is so sad." (More Robert De Niro stories.)
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