Channing Tatum‘s 5-year-old daughter Everly is marching to the beat of her own drum.
At the Los Angeles premiere of his new animated flick Smallfoot on Saturday, the 38-year-old actor opened up to Entertainment Tonight about his only child’s independent personality.
“She’s on the ground, rolling around. Every kid is up doing the proper stuff, but she’s just doing her own thing,” Tatum said of Everly’s participation in dance class, admitting “She kinda came out that way” more so than himself or ex Jenna Dewan instilling a sense of spunk in their daughter.
“I wish I could take credit for that, but I can’t, really,” said the proud dad. “That’s really all her. I think kids come out a little bit of what they’re going to be, and then you foster that to be whatever you hope her to be in the world. She always just does her own thing.”
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The discussion came about because Tatum recently posted a photo of Everly as the only person throwing up the rock-and-roll hand signal in a large group of kids.
“So my daughter giving the lone ? [sign] at her school assembly today just confirmed what I already knew. She cool AF!” he captioned the shot. “And that I will never even come close to how f-ing cool she is. I’m proud and feeling some pangs of dad dork growing.”
Addressing the post with ET, the actor said, “I think everybody would think that was cool. … I’m just watching her, and she’s in a lone group of kids, and it’s how they say, ‘Be quiet’ at assembly, and she’s just the lone one, just holding it up and just being solid about it. Real calm. And I was like, ‘Solidarity.’ “
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Tatum has long been an advocate for his daughter embracing her true and complete self, regardless of what others may pressure her into being. In May 2017, he wrote an essay for Cosmopolitan praising Dewan, 37, and revealing how he wants Everly to dismiss “preconceived standards” and instead focus on what makes her feel empowered.
“I tried to imagine the things I’d want her to read that would help her understand men and sex and partnership better, and at that moment, I realized a strange thing,” wrote the Magic Mike star.
“I don’t want her looking to the outside world for answers. My highest hope for her is just that she has the fearlessness to always be her authentic self, no matter what she thinks men want her to be.”
“I guess if there’s one thing that I think men wish women knew, it’s just that they alone are enough,” added Tatum, who announced his split from Dewan in April after nine years of marriage. “When more women start to truly feel this power in themselves, the world will become so magical, it makes my head hurt.”
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