Earvin "E.J." Johnson III, the son of basketball hall of famer Magic Johnson, said Tuesday that he is surprised by the public interest in him being gay, something he revealed to his supportive family several years ago. Johnson says he feels like he's coming out of the closet a second time and that he's "reveling" in the experience -- despite the news of his sexual orientation breaking publicly sooner than he had planned.

In an interview posted on the YouTube.com talk show "Gwissues," Johnson said that he didn't feel violated after TMZ recently revealed that he's gay. "I always wanted to come into the spotlight," he said. "I always had dreams and plans of doing my own thing and creating my own image, so it came a little sooner than I thought it would but this is still something I knew I would be going through and would have to experience."

Johnson's father, Lakers legendary point guard and co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, retired from the NBA in November 1991 after announcing he had HIV. He and his wife, Cookie, were expecting E.J. at the time.