Wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista has people online applauding after delivering a pointed message about LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
The actor, who has appeared in several Marvel movies including Guardians of the Galaxy, Army of the Dead, and Dune, recently posted a photo of himself to Instagram in a rainbow-emblazoned t-shirt that read "Be You" across the chest.
In his caption, Bautista, who is straight, explained the post was a tribute to his mom, a lesbian whom he described in his caption as having an attitude towards being LGBTQ+ that is nothing short of inspirational--and wonderfully profane.
See his post below.
Along with the photo, Bautista wrote:
"I was always proud of who my mom was because she was always proud of who she was."
"In your face, fu*k you if you don’t like it, unapologetically loud and proud."
Amen!
Bautista went on to say that he "paid attention" to his mom's attitude, before closing his tribute with a directive to LGBTQ+ people everywhere.
"BE LOUD, BE PROUD, BE YOU. ❤️🏳️🌈💪🏽 #ProudSonOfALesbian #pride #pridemonth #lgbtq #lgbt"
Bautista is known to be super close with his mom, the kind of son who took some of his big Marvel movie earnings and bought his mom a house in her favorite part of San Francisco.
Aww.
And he has frequently celebrated Pride and taken up the cause of LGBTQ+ rights as a way of honoring his mother, too.
All the way back in 2014, he posed for photographer Adam Bouska's NOH8 Campaign, a non-profit founded in the wake of California's 2008 Proposition 8 that overturned same-sex marriage in the state until a 2013 Supreme Court decision invalidated it.
And in 2019, he pointedly put a Catholic bishop in place after the bishop said Catholics should not celebrate Pride because it damages children.
Bautista's latest show of support for the LGBTQ+ community had people on Instagram cheering, too.
@maylingng/Instagram
@reincarnated_for_bad/Instagram
@brianb2021/Instagram
@petalsnthorns/Instagram
@realpaulfelix/Instagram
@therealdranimo/Instagram
@bsb_ricardoalexandre/Instagram
@tsax304/Instagram
@adirareignheart/Instagram
@drpaula5/Instagram
Let's all take Bautista's advice and keep that "fu*k you if you don’t like it" energy this Pride season.
Ash Stanton/Facebook
Laura Sprinkle/Facebook
Akira Karasu/Facebook
Cevanna Gilbert/Facebook
Troy Adam/Facebook
@GovPressOffice/X
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social