Magic Johnson’s fabulously flamboyant gay son EJ has lost 50 pounds after undergoing gastric sleeve surgery five weeks ago.
Johnson shared the news in an interview on Entertainment Tonight this week, revealing that he sought advice from Star Jones before going under the knife.
“She told me that it was definitely a tool for a whole new life,” he said. “It was not something that was the easy way out by any means. This is not something that you do and then all of a sudden everything is gone and you’re skinny and you’re a new person. It’s definitely a tool and something that you have to work at.”
In an interview with People, the 22-year-old up-and-coming fashion icon said “weight is something that I’ve been struggling with for pretty much all of my life,” and that shedding the pounds so quickly is “really exciting.”
Johnson says he first considered weight loss surgery two years ago after several popular diets failed to help him lose weight. “Nothing was working, and I wanted to make a more permanent decision to get back on track,” he said.
Johnson said he’ll discover his ideal weight on his weight loss journey, and hopes he’ll achieve his desired result within a year. He plans to adjust his lifestyle accordingly by eating a balanced diet daily, cutting out breads and alcohol, and because this man couldn’t possibly be any more fabulous, taking dance cardio classes five days a week.
“Being able to take control of my life again, take control of what I’m eating and my fitness is enlightening and empowering,” he said.
Check out EJ’s ET segment below:
musctop
Great. If your goal in life is to look like Maya Angelou.
NG22
I’m proud of EJ. And happy for him. I hope it all works out.
And I also don’t see the point of being catty or insulting his appearance.
musctop
@NG22: He looks and acts like a woman. That YOU call my statement “catty” and “insulting” says more about your own bias than my statement.
Scribe38
I love EJ. Dude has a beautiful soul. I wish him the best. I can never understand the hate he receives from the “gay community”. Hating on this kid says more about their f*cked up values than anything else. EJ is living his life out and happy.
Scribe38
@musctop: No your comment was as bitchy and catty as you intended it to be. Jim is this yet another profile of yours(masc4masc)? Some guys (me) appreciate a fem guy, so speak for yourself. Better yet STFU cause no one gives a crap what you think of this kid, who has never done anything against our community besides live his life.
Cam
You know, it’s got to be rough being the son of one of the famous athletes in the country, somebody famous for being in great shape, and yet as their kid you have weight issues.
I don’t know a lot about him, but I love the fact that he came out, and he seems to have a good attitude.
topshelf
@Scribe38:
So no one is permitted to comment unless we run it by you first? No one said anything venomous or mean. The guy has a distinctive look that he has deliberately created for himself. It’s reasonable to assume that not everyone is going to go for it because it’s not the goal of many gay men to resemble women. And on an open forum like this, you have to accept that.
Cam
@topshelf:
I’m not a fan of guys whose eyebrows are “Too Groomed”. I think it looks odd. But frankly you can say the same thing about the guys from “Jersey Shore”.
Ogre Magi
@musctop: Do you take meanness pills before you post here
DarSco
I am so happy for him! I am 40ish and it is VERY hard to be afr. American& openly gay. I thought I wwas a bad person because I liked boys instead of girls. He is so lucky to have an understanding and supportive family. I am so.happy for him and wish him the best with his weightloss . All the haters can go eat a dikk
Franco C.
I love this guy so much.
QJ201
EJ is a fashion icon in that he could share a wardrobe with Alex Leon Tally, the queen of caftans and fashion flamboyance that no other living human would ever emulate.
Queerty must be getting paid to post press releases as “stories”
Sad
Brian
Why does this site obsessively follow the lives of reality “stars”? I mean this question genuinely. Do you believe that (e.g.) MTV’s Road Rules is quality journalism, or are you paid by the agents of these randos? They aren’t emblems of LGBT identity; they are scars on our community that we should try our hardest to heal and move on from.
DarkZephyr
@musctop: no, you were pretty much being a catty bitch. It was obvious.
@topshelf: he doesn’t have to accept jack squat. Musctop was being an ass hat, everyone can tell that he was. He is free to post his jerkish opinions but he better be prepared to get replied to.
DarkZephyr
@QJ201: You are sad over this blog post? You need to get off your computer and go breath more fresh air and live actual life.
MrKev
Are we supposed to give him a round of applause because he took the easy way out and got surgery to lose weight? I’m only impressed by people who actually lose weight by doing it the old fashioned way: diet and exercise.
Bob LaBlah
EJ dear, you are wonderful. However, I hope you understand that the saying “it’s in the genes” is TRUE. Honey, you have a father AND a mother who had the same thing…so forth and so on. Hopefully you looked at pictures of BOTH sides of your family and thought “is the thin, slim look REALLY for me”. I think you know how I feel about your “weight loss”. I would have expected this (surgery) from Star Jones because she looked frustrated she had fame but no man before having it. Now in post surgery, she has neither. So much for the new look.
Hopefully that won’t happen to you. If he can’t accept the natural you I would advise “leave it alone” and move on to the next one.
Hollywood tabloid press and Anna Wintour’s opinion be damned ( I used her as a reference point for fashion though she does have/had a black guy work for her larger than you) I see you as someone who could not only be who you are but be an inspiration for all big-boned gay and lesbian kids every where. Not all gay kids live for time in the gym to end up looking like twinks waiting to do porn. Many are in the same situation as YOU; large boned parents who (like me) like to eat and insist that you do the same. Not like gluttons but like the Turnblands-type of sit down and eat dinner. You could have been the black successful Tracy in my opinion.
To hell with that thin is in b/s. Have a bowl of ice cream and be happy. But always check to see if you are starting to give Buddah a run for his money.
DarkZephyr
@MrKev: I don’t think the article mentioned anything about giving him a round of applause and I also doubt he cares whether or not you are impressed. lol
musctop
@Scribe38: Touched a nerve, did I? Why? He looks like a woman and it’s plain that’s his goal. So find one derogatory thing in my statement, other than how YOU perceived it.
musctop
@DarkZephyr: Catty? How? I made reference to the fact that his goal is to look like a woman. I made no judgment at all-YOU did.
topshelf
@Cam:
Totally agree.
topshelf
@DarkZephyr:
Sure. Anyone can reply to anyone. And people can reply to the reply… and so on and so on. Scribe38’s reply was arrogant and overkill towards the first post that was just a cute and harmless little dig towards EJ. I mean, now that you mention it, tell me you don’t see a resemblance to Maya Angelou. The resemblance is striking.
NoCagada
@Scribe38: And you know that, HOW? Sounds like what George Bush said about Putin
NoCagada
@topshelf: Well, there’s the start of his acting career…he can play Maya…or a revisit to IN LIVING COLOR MEN ON FILM 25 years later
Kangol
@QJ201:
I agree that he’s like a younger André Leon Tally, except that EJ is openly gay and proud to be so, while Tally hedges his bets (as Queerty reported a while ago).
If the surgery works to help him control his weight and be healthy, more power to him. He’s fabulous, and I wish him all the success in the world!
Cam
@Kangol: said.. “I agree that he’s like a younger André Leon Tally, except that EJ is openly gay and proud to be so, while Tally hedges his bets (as Queerty reported a while ago).”
_______________________
I know, it’s like he thinks that admitting he is gay is somehow more horrible and embarrassing than walking around dressed like Endora from Bewitched.
Cam
@Cam:
And I was talking about Andre Leon Tally, not EJ.
lykeitiz
@MrKev: I think that’s the issue that’s being missed here. So many people turn to these surgeries looking for a quick-fix. I hope months from now when the newness of the surgery (the rapid weight loss part) is over and the reality of the maintenance part sets in, he’ll remember what Star Jones told him. There is no easy way out. Eventually it always comes back to diet & exercise.
Saint Law
@Scribe38 The wounded fixation on male femininity? The toothless cattyness? The try-too-hard username? Of course ‘musctop’ is ‘masc pride’ – formerly known as ‘masc4masc’.
Obv the penny dropped that repeatedly describing himself as masculine meant he was anything butt.
SnakeyJ
I’m tired of Queerty trying to make this guy “happen”
He’s nothing but the kid of a famous father.
Just because he prances around openly doesn’t make him an icon of any kind. I’ll respect him when he actually DOES something.
Brian
@SnakeyJ: Yes, thank you, completely agreed.
Cam
@SnakeyJ:
Considering people like Kevin Spacey are STILL in the closet and freak out and attack anybody who DARES mention it, the fact that the African American child of a famous athlete came out of the closet gets respect from me.
Much of the respect goes to his parents who publicly support him, and pass along that being gay is nothing for them to feel ashamed of.
Bob LaBlah
@SnakeyJ: Are you saying that the reality show “Rich Kids of Beverly Hills” wasn’t a hit and didn’t make one wonder (by watching) “is this what my life has come to? Watching shit like this?”
Ok, the black kid from Glee he ain’t. Lets face it, girl on that show can sing in reality. Maybe this one can design. I just hope he looks at the size of his head and compares it to the rest of his body and rethinks if he wants to go the way of Star Jones. Her head is NOT in proportion to the rest of her body due to genetics and neither will his.
Hopefully being flamboyantly gay will not be used as an excuse for walking past the home gym that I find very hard to believe was not in the Johnson home. Or at least a basketball hoop on the garage door, mansion be damned. If the surgery can’t keep it under control then try the old fashion way. At twenty-two this kid sounds lazy and depressed more than anything else. His body movements say it.
lykeitiz
@Cam: I couldn’t agree more with everything you said! I would just add that it’s even more interesting that his athlete father “came out” as HIV poz during a time when HIV was the “gay disease”. To me, that’s an added testament to the strength of that family.
Kidomega123
This whole thread is just Masc Pride using all of his different aliases to argue stupidity. *sigh*
Cam
@lykeitiz:
You know what? I forgot that his father did that! But you’re right, with that as your example growing up no wonder his coming out was not a problem for him!
iggy6666
I want to be an astronaut. But I’m not rich or have been on ET. …… shucks my dreams will never come true……
Lvng1Tor
Something about the kid irks me the wrong way. Same Way I feel about most “reality” personalities…they are not stars…
Still a good thing to be public about what he is going thru. Maybe it will help others…who prob don’t have the money but if he can get healthy and get over all the “feel so sorry for people who have to deal with Sally Mae. She sounds like a basic b!tch” bs *not a direct quote* it may help kids who identify with him. Hopefully beyond I want to be a vapid one dimensional character on E!…
So what if he reminds people of the stereo typed gay…not my journey. Let’s face it there are guys who fit the stereo type. They deserve role models too. I just can’t get into the “I’m too FABULOUS” nature of it all. Then when ya see him interviewed he’s kinda sweet…..Reality ain’t real kids