Dave Bautista minces no words in loving tribute to his 'loud and proud' lesbian mom for Pride Month

Wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista has a very special message for his mother, Donna Raye, and the rest of the LGBTQ+ community, this Pride Month. In a post shared to Instagram over the weekend, the star—who has appeared in several big Hollywood projects of the likes of "Guardians of the Galaxy," "Army of the Dead" and "Dune"—sported a rainbow-emblazoned blue T-shirt that read "Be You" across the chest. Captioning the photograph, the 53-year-old wrote: "I was always proud of who my mom was because she was always proud of who she was. In your face, f**k you if you don’t like it, unapologetically loud and proud. And her son paid attention. BE LOUD, BE PROUD, BE YOU."

Bautista topped off the caption with emojis of a rainbow flag and a heart, as well as the hashtags #ProudSonOfALesbian, #pride, #pridemonth, #lgbtq and #lgbt. This isn't the first time the "Final Score" star has shared a tribute for his mother during Pride Month. He penned another heartwarming post for her in 2019, along with a throwback photograph of Raye. "I asked my mom for a picture of her from the '70s because I wanted to do a post for pride month. She sent me this one. Then I said 'do you have any without a big marijuana poster and a guy rolling a joint in the background?' She said 'hey it was the '70s! We were high 7 days a week!' Anyway, this is my mom," he said of the photograph.

"Loud and proud when it wasn't ok to be loud and proud. She never apologized for who she was or who she loved. Which is why I never did either. And never will! A strong lesbian raised a strong man and I couldn't be more proud of her. We lived in the Castro during the Harvey Milk years. She volunteered with every bit of strength and heartbroken energy she had with The Names Project. She still volunteers in San Francisco helping the homeless and mentally ill. She is the reason I am who I am," Bautista continued.

"Every decent part of me as a human being is directly because of my mother. I celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride month with her and everyone else from the community that I was raised in. And if anyone has an issue with it, I've said before and I'll say it again, you can s**k my b***s! I love you mom," he concluded. Such tributes come as no surprise to true Bautista fans as the actor has stood up for the LGBTQ+ community multiple times in the past. One such instance occurred a couple of years ago when Rhode Island's Bishop Thomas Tobin tweeted that "Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ 'Pride Month' events" as they "promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals" and "are especially harmful for children."

Responding to Tobin's homophobic message, Bautista wrote: "My mom's a lesbian. I think I turned out ok. And the activities she chooses are to help the homeless and people suffering from mental illness. I admit I'm not perfect but at least I was never a judgmental hypocrite! I'm sure you don't speak for most Catholics. Have a nice day." According to ABC News, the bishop eventually published a statement addressing the backlash he received from Bautista and other social media users. "I regret that my comments yesterday about Pride Month have turned out to be so controversial in our community, and offensive to some, especially the gay community," he said. "That certainly was not my intention, but I understand why a good number of individuals have taken offense. I also acknowledge and appreciate the widespread support I have received on this matter."

While Tobin claimed that he and the Catholic Church have "respect and love for members of the gay community, he added that "as a Catholic Bishop, however, my obligation before God is to lead the faithful entrusted to my care and to teach the faith, clearly and compassionately, even on very difficult and sensitive issues."