Ava Phillippe addresses hateful messages she received about sexuality: ‘I can and will block profiles’

Ava Phillippe, daughter of actors Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, has responded to some of the comments she’s received on social media and said she has no problem blocking any “hateful” Instagram users.

On January 12, Phillippe, 22,  published a story on Instagram to address some of the “bigoted” comments that have been left on her posts.

“QUICK REMINDER: I can & will block profiles commenting bigoted/hateful messages under my posts," she wrote in the expired Instagram story, which was shared via People. "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."

While Phillippe didn’t address any specific comments, her story came a few days after she’d done an Instagram Q&A where she discussed her sexuality. One question she was asked was, "Do u like boys or girls?” In response, Phillippe wrote: “I’m attracted to ... people! Gender is whatever.”

This isn’t Phillippe’s first time opening up about her life on Instagram. While speaking to E! Daily Pop last month, she said that she’s committed to kindness on social media.

And before posting anything online, she considers these questions: “What is that going to mean to somebody else, what does it mean to me? Is this helpful? Is it important? Is it charitable? Is it something I want the world to see from me?”

“I do have a platform of some sort, for sure,” she explained. “And I want to be conscious of what I am posting. I might not always get it right but I’m always going to try my best to put good out there.”

She also expressed that if her post “feels like a human experience and it feels right,” then she’ll publish it.

“That gut feeling of, someone might need to hear this,” said said. “It makes me feel good, in more ways than one, to be able to share and be real with people on social media as much as is possible.”

“We do see a lot of the falsified sides [of people] or the facades, and it’s just not completely true of everyone, and I think a little truth is good sometimes,” she added.

Previously, Phillippe shared an Instagram post centred around finding “any kind of perfection” throughout feelings of negativity. In it, she showed screenshots from her iPhone’s notes app, which included words of encouragement to her followers.

“Hello people of the internet!” she wrote in a screen recording of her notes app. “I hope all of you are doing as well as possible.”

In this post, she also emphasised how she tries to find “goodness” in every situation.

“Regardless of whether I can see it or feel it, goodness must exist,” one of her notes reads. “Even in moments where the scales seem very clearly tipped, chances are, our universe doesn’t ever truly lose its balance.”

Aside from social media, Phillippe noted to E! Daily Pop that being kind to others is one of the most important life lessons she’s ever received.

“Treat people with kindness and do the best you can and understand that [you having] problems doesn’t mean anybody else doesn’t have problems, it doesn’t mean they’re bigger or smaller, they’re not to be compared,” she said.

“We’ve all got stuff we’re dealing with and to be humble and gracious about that is just so important,” she added.