Ryan Phillippe on the downside of fame and how it affects his daughter
While actor Ryan Phillippe, 33, loves his job and the flexibility it provides, he has found an undesired aspect of such a career. When talking to Britain’s The Times about his new film, Stop-Loss, Ryan mentioned the effect that fame and — in turn — the paparazzi have had on his two children with Reese Witherspoon, Ava Elizabeth, 8 ½, and Deacon Reese, 4.
Ryan shared that due to being his first child, his protective instinct kicked in when the paparazzi initially became interested when Reese was pregnant with Ava.
She’s aware and it creates in her a lot of anxiety, which is partly my fault. When Ava was very young, I was young too. I’d get visibly angry at the paparazzi back then. She was my first child, and my instinct was to protect her.
Ryan adds that Deacon is not affected in the same way,
Mainly because since his birth I’ve realized that you’ve got to make it seem like less of a big deal. Ava to this day though — it breaks my heart to think about it — hearing her say, ‘My friends at school saw a picture of me in a magazine and they made fun because I was carrying a blanket.’
Source: The Times
Thanks to CBB readers Roise and Kate.
- Posted on Apr 20, 08 at 2:27PM
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- 9 Comments
April 20th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
That breaks my heart too about the blankie…my daughter loves her blankies my mom makes for her and I hate all the social standards that make kids so cruel!
April 20th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
I love Ryan. I wasn’t a big fan of him before (Mainly movies). But after the divorce , You can truely tell what a great and caring father he is. Ryan is so intuned at faults him and Reese are putting there kids into. He is now one of my favorite celeb dads. I wish him the best.
April 20th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
That’s so sad. Kids can be so cruel sometimes.
April 20th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I thought that the policy of this blog was to not post pictures of kids if their parents were blocking them or otherwise indicate that they do not want the photos taken. Ryan is clearly indicating that he does not want his childrens’ photos taken, and Ava herself has anxiety over it and suffers from it at school. So why post photos of these kids? It should be clear from both Ryan and Ava that the photos are not welcome.
I like this website but I think you should seriously give consideration to not showing paparazzi photos of children — rather, you should stick to photos from magazine shoots/layouts (i.e., clearly approved by the parents) and also those taken at public events where the parents know photographers will be. I was at a playground the other day and saw a celebrity there with his wife and kids and I thought about how awful it would be for those kids if that simple time with their dad were interrupted by photographers.
April 20th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
That is so sad about Ava and the kids at school ! Ugh, kids can be so mean.
April 20th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Wow, I know Ava was scared of the paparazzi, but that’s horrible. I really hope she doesn’t have fall-out from it later when she’s a teenager in the form of self-esteem issues, though it sounds like those have already started. Very sad.
I’m sure I would lose my cool with the paps sometimes, but this example just goes to show that the calmer the parents are, the calmer the kids will be. It’s undoubtedly a bizarre situation for anyone to be in, but these children don’t know that unless they take that cue from their parents. Ignoring the paps or briefly acknowledging them really seems like the best way to go.
April 20th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Poor Ava. Kids always find something to make fun of, don’t they?
April 20th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
That just broke my heart, reading about Ava being teased. Poor darling. I never really thought about the paps affecting the kids, but from this, it’s clear they do!
April 21st, 2008 at 2:24 am
That makes me sad too. Poor Ava. It’s a bit ironic that now he’s talking about them making fun of her in a magazine. What a crazy world it is for celebrity children. Sad.