In some families, getting an earring when you’re young is no big deal, but in others it’s a big no-no. Some people have feelings about body-altering choices wrapped up in beliefs about age-appropriateness, assumptions or judgments about what certain choices mean or simply old-fashioned norms and expectations.
For whatever reason, Ryan Reynolds’ dad was not a fan of him getting an earring at age 12. But that didn’t stop him from doing it.
Reynolds shared the story about how his brothers unexpectedly saved him from his dad’s wrath over his getting an earring on David Letterman’s “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.” In typical Ryan Reynolds’ fashion, it’s a funny story, but also super heartwarming.
Reynolds explained that he had a rebellious period when he was about 12 years old and decided to get an earring for reasons he can’t really recall. “I don’t know. Wham! was big,” he told Letterman.
“My brothers said, ‘You’re gonna die. You’re gonna show up at dinner tonight and there will be a messy stabbing death because Dad will take one of the utensils and stab you,'” Reynolds said.
Nonetheless, he and his friend went to “Sears or wherever the hell you go” to get the piercing, his friend’s mom signed the consent form (bold move, friend’s mom) and the deed was done.
“I remember my face being so flush with blood and heat thinking about this impending disaster that was about to happen,” he said, “and also really kind of rooting and sitting in that rebellion of the moment, too, like I’m doing something for me, I’m standing up to this.”
He got to the dinner table, anxious and sweating, and could feel his dad’s gaze. Then his dad uttered some kind of swear word (something like “you f*@ks,'” he said) and when Reynolds looked up he saw what his three brothers had done for him.
“It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said.
Watch Reynolds tell the sweet tale: