David Schwimmer says daughter is a ‘self-declared vegetarian’ as he discusses parenthood

Friends star says daughter decided to become a vegetarian when she was around five years old

(Getty Images)

David Schwimmer has said his daughter is a “self-declared vegetarian” explaining that she chose to cut meat from her diet when she was around five years old.

On Wednesday, Schwimmer appeared on the podcast “Table Manners with Jessie Ware”, which is hosted by the singer and her mother, Lennie Ware.

The Friends star explained that his eight-year-old daughter, Cleo, decided to give up meat following an outing with her mother, artist Zoë Buckman, who Schwimmer separated from in 2017.

“She’s a vegetarian, self-declared vegetarian,” the actor said. “She was five, four or five. She just said, ‘I’m a vegetarian’.

“I think she had been somewhere with her mum where they were talking about vegetarianism and animal rights, and I think it just hit her.”

Schwimmer stated that Cleo “never really enjoyed eggs”, although he admitted that she does have one weakness when it comes to her vegetarian lifestyle.

“Her weakness – still today – is chicken nuggets, or chicken tenders,” the 53-year-old said, before adding that he has cooked meat-free chicken alternatives for his daughter.

During his conversation with Jessie and Lennie Ware, Schwimmer also recalled his barmitzvah at the age of 13.

The Intelligence actor said that while he “grew up in a culturally Jewish household”, he “grappled with the idea that, later in life, that as a 13-year-old, that was my passage into manhood”.

After explaining that his teachings from his barmitzvah “didn’t have the meaning that it would as an older young man”, Schwimmer was asked whether his daughter would have a batmitzvah.

“I don’t think so,” he stated. “I’m not observant in that way and that’s a personal decision, and I wouldn’t insist on her doing that without her understanding what it is.

“If she wants as a grown woman, as an adult woman, once she’s educated and informed, it’s her decision. And that’s how I think it should be.”

During a recent interview with NME, Schwimmer said that in his opinion, a Friends reunion would be more likely to happen than Oasis getting back together.

Last week, the actor refused to deny that a Friends reunion could be in the works when questioned on the topic on BBC’s The One Show.