Phoebe Gates Addresses 'Misconceptions and Conspiracy Theories' About Her Family and Boyfriend
"It's 2023. I'm done being memed for being in an interracial relationship," Phoebe Gates told The Information in a recent interview
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Phoebe Gates, the youngest daughter of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and philanthropist Melinda French Gates, is opening up about her use of social media — including "misconceptions and conspiracy theories" that she sees about her family online.
In an email interview with The Information published on Friday, the 20-year-old Stanford University student, who has nearly 65,000 followers on TikTok, said that social media is a great way to "tell my own story."
"People have a lot of preconceptions about me, so TikTok has been a chance for me to tell my own story and also use the attention my family name might bring to spotlight issues that are important to me, like women's health and sustainable fashion," said Phoebe, who recently posted an essay about the fight for reproductive rights.
And while it may be her family's name that initially brings attention to her profile, many people "stick around" because of the causes she supports, she said in the interview, which Insider also highlighted.
Phoebe regularly posts TikTok videos with her parents, including a video of her dad playing "boxball," which has been viewed over 8 million times since December. "People probably find it funny to see my dad being a goof," she told The Information.
In February, she shared a clip of a "contraceptive talk" with her mother, and has documented some sweet mother-daughter moments too, including spending time together in London over the summer when Phoebe had an internship at British Vogue.
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However, while there are positives to having a platform, Gates told the Information that social media is rife with "misconceptions and conspiracy theories about my family and my relationship with my boyfriend."
"It's 2023. I'm done being memed for being in an interracial relationship," she told the outlet of the comments on pictures she posts with her boyfriend, who is Black and a Stanford alum.
In one of her most recent posts with her boyfriend, Gates documented their trip to the the People's Choice Awards back in December. "Incredible night," she captioned the post.
Although Phoebe says that social media is fun, she has her sights on growing another empire for herself.
Phoebe told The Information that she's working on an idea for a startup, called Phia, with her roommate, climate activist Sophia Kianni. "We're building out an idea to help make fashion more sustainable. We have so much planned for this year," she teased, without going into much detail about the project.
RELATED VIDEO: Bill and Melinda Gates' Daughter Jennifer Shares First Photos from Wedding to Nayel Nassar
This has also been a big year for Phoebe's older sister, Jennifer Gates, who announced over the weekend that she and husband Nayel Nassar have welcomed their first child.
"Sending love from our healthy little family," the pair captioned the post, which shows them holding their baby girl, whose name they've yet to reveal.
Melinda was one of many who celebrated the happy news, writing, "Welcome to the world. My heart overflows."
Phoebe joined in on the celebration as well, sharing a trio of heart emojis in the comments section.
Stella McCartney Partnered (and Partied) With Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni in the Name of Responsible Fashion
https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/stella-mccartney-phia-wta-bag-party-2023
BY August 30, 2023
Phoebe Gates, Sophia KianniBre Johnson /BFA.com
Phia, a soon-to-launch fashion platform, partnered with Stella McCartney to design a new bag collection that honors the Women’s Tennis Association and 50 years of women being paid equally in tennis.
Sophia Kianni and Phoebe Gates, two Stanford undergraduate students and activists, see room for improvement in the fashion industry. As leaders in advocacy for environmental awareness and women’s rights—Kianni is a United Nations advisor and the founder of Climate Cardinals, a youth-led nonprofit focused on making the climate movement more accessible, and Gates is a reproductive rights activist—the pair was surprised to find that after being randomly matched as roommates, they had a lot in common. “It felt like such a star-aligning moment; we barely knew each other the year before,” Kianni says. Now, they’re combining their respective backgrounds to launch their first business, Phia.
It comes as no suprise, given their shared passion for making a difference, that Kianni and Gates are embarking upon a venture with a cause. Phia, a digital fashion platform, is set to launch this fall. While the product itself is still baking, the co-founders set themselves up for success by tapping a mentor and conscious fashion pioneer: Stella McCartney. “We’re trying to build something that we think will change the future of fashion,” Kianni says. Gates adds, “Stella has been able to build this empire while still holding onto her values. We reached out many times, and eventually, she really took us under her wing and has since been an advisor to us as we build out this platform.”
In anticipation of Phia’s launch, Stella McCartney and Phia came together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the US Open, becoming the first Grand Slam tournament to offer equal prize money for women. Gates and Kianni collaborated with McCartney to design a limited-edition capsule collection of bags that honors this advancement for the Women’s Tennis Association. McCartney’s past partnerships with female tennis players, such as Maria Kirilenko and Caroline Wozniacki, and, of course, Adidas, have tied her closely to the WTA and its mission of empowering girls and women worldwide.
The bag, which is available in two slightly different iterations, is designed with chain handles and crystal-embellished ribbons as a nod to a powerful feminist accessory in sports history, the tennis bracelet. “Chris Evert, 50 years ago, dropped her diamond tennis bracelet on the court. And it was this whole thing where she stopped the game to pick up her bracelet,” Gates says. “So the bag we designed, which is made from deadstock materials and inspired by that story, is designed to support women in tennis and honor these 50 years.”
While Gates and Kianni make it clear that they’re not athletes themselves—“as you can see from the way we’re dressed right now,” Gates jokes—they are following the path female tennis players have long paved to make changes for future generations. “Both of our backgrounds, all of it has been about bringing people from grass-roots activism to philanthropy together,” Kianni says. “That’s very much the same spirit we want to honor as we enter the fashion space. We want to identify everyone who is doing incredible things, learn from them, and see how we can accelerate progress together.”
To celebrate the launch of the collection, Gates and Kianni filled the Stella McCartney Greene Street store with friends and family. Champagne and Casa Dragones cocktails poured as partygoers got a first look at the co-designed bag, a light-pink take on a quintessentially Stella McCartney design. As the co-founders look beyond this milestone partnership, they have one shared goal in mind. “I’m just inspired to work with women who I think are so incredible—I get to work with Sophia every day,” Gates shares. Kianni echoes her sentiment, “At this party is everyone from every walk of life — some of our mentors have come, our friends from school are here. It’s really important to foster intergenerational collaboration. Because I think there’s a lot we can all learn from each other.”
