Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty
Sarah Michelle Gellartakes her role as a parent and anLGBTQ+ally seriously.
The Golden Globe nominee, 45, opens up to PEOPLE about the importance of “teaching the next generation” inclusivity as she appears in the star-studded “Taste So Good” music video forCannandWeedmaps’Pride Monthcampaign.
“I think everything needs to be about inclusivity. We need to judge people on their actions and we’ve gotten so far past that, and we’re so busy labeling and putting people in buckets. And it’s not about that,” Gellar tells PEOPLE ahead of Tuesday’s video release. “And I just always say to my children, ‘I don’t care if you’re the star quarterback and I don’t care if you get the best grades, I care that you’re a kind and empathetic human and that’s what’s most important to me. And the rest will follow.'”
The mom of two — daughterCharlotte Grace, 12, and sonRocky James, 9, — notes that coming from New York City meant she grew up in “a weird bubble” and didn’t realize homophobia and other forms of discrimination were such widespread issues. “That was not something I experienced,” Gellar explains.
Sarah Michelle Gellar in the Cann Pride Month Campaign.cann
“And luckily my children also are growing up in Los Angeles, in a big city where they’ve always understood since they were little that some people have two dads, some people have two moms, some people have only one parent. It’s just the way it is,” she says. “And again, we base our opinions on people and their actions.”
“But I also … tell my kids that it’s okay to take time to figure out who you are and what you want. I think it’s hard to be young right now and to grow up and I see kids feel the need to label themselves even earlier and it’s like, you’ll figure out who you are. I mean, I’m still figuring out who I am and I’m an old person,” Gellar adds.
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Gellar and husbandFreddie Prinze Jr.have each developed their own respective LGBTQ+ fan followings over the years.
“We’ll joke with each other. I’ll say, ‘Well, the gays loved me first.’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, but they love me more,'” she says. “And it becomes a running joke in our family.”
“My favorite part, honestly, was that for once, it wasn’t me in the high heels,” she recounts. “Kornbreadwas like, ‘These are the most uncomfortable shoes I’ve ever worn.’ And I just looked down at the sneakers I was wearing and I was all, ‘Sorry.'”
Kesha, Patricia Arquette and Jorgeous.cann
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source: people.com
