Stranger Things star Maya Hawke has opened up about how her mum Uma Thurman’s decision to have an abortion led to her existence.
The iconic actress, now 52, had a termination in her late teens, and her daughter, 23, explained that she wouldn’t exist without it. Watch below:
Maya made the revelation on The Tonight Show as she weighed in on the controversial overturning of Roe v. Wade, which will effectively ban abortion for millions of American women.
“Both of my parents' lives would've been totally derailed if she hadn't had access to safe and legal health care - fundamental health care,” she told Jimmy Fallon.
Maya’s father is Ethan Hawke and he has two children with Thurman, his ex-wife - the other being 20-year-old Levon Roan, who is also an actor.
Thurman also shares a daughter with French financier and ex-partner Arpad Busson, nine-year-old Luna.
The actress wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post last year on abortions as Texas banned terminations after six weeks - at which point most people don’t know they are pregnant.
The actress explained that she fell pregnant to a much older man as a teenager and described terminating her pregnancy as her ‘darkest secret’.
However, she realised that the abortion was for the best as it allowed her to ‘grow up and become the mother I wanted and needed to be.’
As Maya discussed the subject on The Tonight Show, she highlighted the fact that it will disproportionately affect poor women as they won’t be able to go out of state so easily.
She said: "So many people, because of this ruling this week, will not only not be able to pursue their dreams, but actually lose their lives and be unsafe.
“And I just wanted to say that, like, f*** the Supreme Court.”
The host echoed Maya’s sentiment, saying: “Oh, f*** the Supreme Court! Yeah, rock on!”
Fans of the actress subsequently took to Twitter to praise her for speaking out on the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
One fan wrote: “Don’t you just love it when Maya Hawke makes history on live television.”
“[Maya Hawke] saying ‘f**k the supreme court’ on live television is going down in the history books [sic],” added another.
“We stan Maya Hawke in this house!” wrote a third.
The 23-year-old was appearing on the show to promote the latest season of Stranger Things.
It has been a Netflix hit and the second volume is set to drop on the steaming service tomorrow (1 July).
Featured Image Credit: NBCTopics: Stranger Things
Emma Guinness