Rosie O'Donnell/Instagram While speaking withVariety,Rosie O'Donnell opened up for the first time about her child Clay, 12, coming out to her as nonbinary The actress and comedian says her children "are stunned" when she tells them what she went through as a lesbian in the 1970s O'Donnell is a mother to four other children: Vivienne, Blake, Chelsea, and Parker Rosie O'Donnellis looking back to when her child, Clay, came out to her as nonbinary. While speaking withVarietyabout her role in Max'sAnd Just Like That...,the actress, 63, talked about the moment herchild Clay, 12, opened up to her about their gender identity. O'Donnell said hearing her child tell her that was "the most interesting thing." "I have a little one who is nonbinary — 12 years old — and it was the most interesting thing," she told the outlet. "They said to me, 'Mommy, I'm nonbinary. I'm not a boy and I'm not a girl.' I said, 'Okay, fantastic,' " she recalled. "They go, 'My pronouns are they/them, and I'd like them respected.' I will do my very best, right? Who are they, Harvey Milk reincarnated?" Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Mike Marsland/Getty The proud mom said that in the moment her child asked her if she was also nonbinary. "I said, 'Well, you know what, honey, I'm an O.G. lesbian. I'm a girl who knew I was a girl, who liked being a girl, but didn't feel like a real girl. But I never wanted to be a boy. I never thought about boys. I was only always thinking about girls.' And then they said, "What did your class say when you told them?" "Can you imagine? They have no understanding of what it was like when I was 10 in 1972 and nobody mentioned it," she continued. "The word was not said — you would neveradmit it. You'd go to church and hear horrible things about people like you, and Billie Jean [King] and Martina [Navratilova] had to disclaim their lesbianism and pretend they were not gay in order to continue working on the tennis circuit, and that was so painful for me when I was a 10-year-old. They didn't understand. I've been trying to explain to them what it was like when I was a kid, and they are stunned." The actress and comedianhas welcomed five childrensince 1995: Clay, Vivienne, 22, Blake, 25, Chelsea, 27, and Parker, 30. The mom of fiveconfirmed in March that she's officially living in Ireland. She opened up about how she andher 12-year-old childhave been getting used to the change in aTikTokshared on Thursday, March 20. Rosie O'Donnell/Instagram The PEOPLE Appis now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! In the video, she expressed how "proud and impressed" she is of Clay's resilience regarding their new home. She added, "It's not easy to move to another country, and we really felt as a family this was the safest and best thing for us to do." In the same video, shared on March 11, O'Donnell shed some more light on her decision to leave the U.S. "I was never someone who thought I wouldmove to another country," she began, before adding, "You know, I'm happy. Clay is happy. I miss my other kids. I miss my friends. I miss many things about life there at home and I'm trying to find a home here in this beautiful country and when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that's when we will consider coming back." Read the original article onPeople
