Fact Check: Did Kurt Russell say 'Children don't need new genders, they need normal parents'?

OLD SNOWMASS, CALIFORNIA: A rumor is circulating on social media platforms claiming that Hollywood actor Kurt Russell made an LGBTQ remark stating that children don’t need new genders; they need normal parents. The claim has sparked debates and criticisms, and raised speculations. Many are questioning the authenticity of the remark, prompting a fact-check.

Claim: Kurt Russell said children need normal parents, not new genders 

According to a claim that surfaced this month, film and TV actor Kurt Russell once said, "Children don't need new genders; they need normal parents." 

On Friday, July 24, Newsmax’s  David J. Harris Jr posted on Facebook a photo of Russell, along with an overlay text stating, “BREAKING: Famous actor, Kurt Russell, came out STRONG against woke parents. He says: 'Children don't need new genders, they need normal parents.'" 

The post then spread on Facebook, X, and Instagram, garnering hundreds of thousands of views as of this writing.

Fact Check: Kurt Russell never made such a remark

However, the claim is false, as there is no evidence of Russell ever remarking, and Harris Jr did not provide a source to back the claim.

Searches on search engines like Google failed to locate any news media outlets reporting the alleged remark by Russell. If the claim were true, prominent entertainment outlets could have widely reported on the politically charged matter.

A reverse image search for the image that accompanied the post located several memes containing the quote on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and X, according to which the earliest posts attributing the quote to Russell dated back to at least May 2026, but could not find the source.

A similar rumor emerged months earlier, falsely claiming that people boycotted Russell after he said children should not be allowed to watch cartoons with LGBTQ+ themes; however, there was no evidence to support the claim.

Kurt Russell about raising children

The claim surfaced after Russell recently reflected on the decision he and longtime partner Goldie Hawn made to leave Los Angeles and settle in Colorado, where he spoke about raising children.

Russell said the setting gave their children experiences that were very different from those available in a large city. He also connected his love of Colorado to memories from his own childhood in Maine. 

Reflecting on those early years, the actor recalled, “My grandparents built a cabin in Maine, and I spent a lot of time there. Once you get that in your blood, it’s hard to get it out.”