Joey Fatone On Being A Dad And Kid Slang

Joey Fatone needs help understanding what his teenage daughter is saying.

“I have a 14-year-old, who is right in that gap of the ‘No cap,’ ‘beige flag,’ ‘bruh,’ all the ‘rizz,’” Fatone, 47, a former member of the iconic boy band *NSYNC, tells TODAY.com, adding, “Mewing … mooing, what the hell are you doing?”

“These are words I have no idea about,” he says.

In an effort to relate to his daughter Kloey, Fatone says he has tried to learn Gen Z slang and — worse — introduce 1990s terminology from his own youth. He’s aware of how it looks.

“If I try to say it, it sounds so dorky,” says Fatone. “Back in my day, it was ‘mint’ or ‘dope’ … the only thing I was ‘bussin’ was moves.”

Fatone, who shares daughters Kloey Alexandra and Briahna Joely, 23, with his ex-wife Kelly Baldwin, spoke to TODAY.com for his back to school campaign with salon brand Great Clips.

The salon chain is offering free children’s haircuts to the first 24,000 parents who register online, as well as an online slang dictionary to help parents understand their kids.

It sounds like Fatone is doing well in the communication department.

“Our kids come to us when they’ve had a bad day … or now my little one will go to my older daughter — who then tells my ex-wife, who tells me,” he jokes. “No matter what secret is happening, someone knows something.”

According to Fatone, he and Baldwin have settled into a smooth co-parenting relationship.

“The bond is with your kids … you don’t have to be best friends or hang out all the time, but there is a bond,” says Fatone, adding, “When that happens, it’s a great respect and it’s amazing.” Fatone and Baldwin reunite for the occasional family vacation.

“The other day, I asked (Kloey), ‘How do you like your life so far — I know that me and mom are divorced, but is it safe to say it’s a healthy relationship?’” says Fatone. “She said yes, because she has friends whose parents are divorced and won’t even talk to each other.”

Fatone doesn’t consider himself a strict parent — despite a “No dating until you’re 18” rule — but he says he is protective “at times, when I know better.”

“When my (eldest) daughter was in college, I said, ‘Listen, I know you’re going to go to parties and drink. I’m sure people will do things they shouldn’t be doing. If the cops come, you get your a– out the back door and run … call me and I’ll pick you up, or get yourself an Uber,’” says Fatone. “No questions asked … if you’re at the wrong place at the wrong time … why should I punish you for trying to get out of there?”

He adds, “Now, if you’re being a jerk … I’m going to reprimand you and you’re going to be in trouble.”

There’s one party Briahna Joely didn’t miss.

In 2019, the members of *NSYNC — Fatone, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick and JC Chasez, minus Justin Timberlake — hit the stage at Coachella with headliner Ariana Grande to perform their 1997 hit “Tearin’ Up My Heart.” 

Briahna Joely’s response to her dad: “Why are you going?”

“I said, ‘Well, your old man is going to be dancing on stage with Ariana Grande,’” says Fatone. “She said, ‘Are you serious? Oh, that’s funny.’ It’s like, ‘Ole’ Dad is going to dance with an artist that I know.’”

Fatone says his daughters have grown to appreciate his career. While ‘90s jams may not be their musical “bag,” he says, they’ll point out, “It’s actually kind of cool you performed with Aerosmith” at the 2001 Super Bowl.

With a total of seven children between the members of *NSYNC, does Fatone lean on the fellow dads for advice and banter?

“Any time ‘It’s gonna be May’ comes up, we text each other and laugh and say stupid stuff,” says Fatone. “100 percent.”