Maya Hawke jokes she's proud of dad Ethan Hawke for flirting with Rihanna: 'It's family pride'

Ethan Hawke is no star athlete, but his daughter Maya is proud of his flirting game.

During an interview with Variety published Tuesday, Hawke and his daughter, whom he shares with ex-wife Uma Thurman, playfully reminisced about the time Hawke flirted with popstar Rihanna at a basketball game in 2015.

When asked which singer Hawke would prefer to see in concert, Rihanna or Lady Gaga, Maya said the "Lift Me Up" singer was a "very fast answer" for her because of her father's viral interaction with the singer.

"I've been caught by the paparazzi openly flirting with Rihanna," Hawke said, to which Maya corrected that he was "openly trying to" flirt with RiRi.

"That's been a family shame, so you're really touching a nerve," Hawke jokingly added.

But far from being embarrassed by the moment, Maya embraced Hawke's boldness. "It's family pride," she said.

Hawke and Rihanna both attended the 64th NBA All-Star Game in New York City in February 2015. Hawke went to the game with his son Levon, who was initially seated between his father and the singer, though Hawke later switched seats to chat up Rihanna.

Hawke previously joked about the encounter in a May 2019 Instagram post, sharing a meme that read, "Remember when Ethan Hawke made his son switch seats just so he could talk to Rihanna."

"Yes, my son and I remember this GREAT night," Hawke wrote in response to the meme. "His version is a little different than mine."

Maya stars in Hawke's directorial feature "Wildcat," a biographical drama based on the life of novelist Flannery O'Connor. With recent discourse on the family networks of "nepo babies" in Hollywood, Hawke joked about the optics of him working with his daughter on a project.

"Put simply, I’m a nepo dad!" Hawke told Variety. "And I’m not embarrassed about it."

He added: "If someone wants to criticize us for working together, that’s totally fair. You have to let people have their opinion. You just have to try to do a good job when you’re onstage."

Maya, who also serves as an executive producer on "Wildcat," said while the potential scrutiny of their collaboration weighed on her at times, working with Hawke was an extension of their rapport as filmmakers.

"I had moments of insecurity about it while we were shooting the movie," Maya said. "But the internet doesn’t have a lot of nuances. My dad has been a massive teacher for me, and we want to work together. We like being with each other."

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