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Reese Witherspoon’s Daughter Ava Phillippe Fires Back at ‘Hateful’ Internet Trolls

Reese Witherspoon's eldest child, Ava Elizabeth Phillippe, just used her Instagram to send a very powerful message.

The 22-year-old daughter of Witherspoon and actor Ryan Phillippe recently opened up about her sexuality during a Q&A session on Instagram, when a fan asked if she was attracted to “boys or girls.” In response to the question, Phillippe said, “I'm attracted to…people! (Gender is whatever).”

While she didn't expand any further on the question, it seems that internet trolls have been taking to the comments of her posts to leave hateful messages. In response to these comments, Phillippe shared a post to her Instagram Story that said, “Quick reminder: I can & will block profiles commenting bigoted/hateful messages under my posts. My Instagram profile is not a place for cruelty/hate speech & I intend to do what I can to keep it that way. Peace & love.”

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Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

This message resonated strongly with Phillippe's 1 million Instagram followers. On her most recent posts, she's been receiving love from fans, with users saying things like, “You influence me every day,” and “Love youuu, Ava.”

The 22-year-old influencer has a very close relationship with her mother, and Witherspoon recently used her own account to speak about how proud she is of her daughter.

When Ava celebrated her birthday back in September, Witherspoon made a post to honor her eldest and said, “Happy Birthday to my sweet little girl…excuse me… I mean my adult daughter!!! Words can’t describe how proud I am of you. You have grown into an extraordinary person who cares so much about the world around her. I am so lucky to have you light up my life. I love you, Ava!! @avaphillippe #thisis22.”

We love this family.

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calfee

Associate Editor, News and Entertainment

Joel is the former Associate Editor for News & Entertainment and has been reporting on all things pop culture for over 5 years. Before working at PureWow, he served as a Features Editor at ROCKET Magazine. When he's not dissecting the latest trends in entertainment (or guiding you on what to watch), he covers all the hottest red carpet looks and fashion movements. When he steps away from the keyboard, you can likely find him at an NYC concert, thrift store or LGBTQ+ bookstore happily perusing the shelves.

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