Al Pacino just became a dad again at 83—and the internet has THOUGHTS

For whatever reason, it seems to be en vogue to be an octogenarian Hollywood legend and a newborn dad at the same. On that note, Al Pacino has become a dad again at the age of 83! (Robert DeNiro is expecting a baby as well at 79, but he’ll be an octogenarian as of August, so.)

Pacino’s girlfriend, 29-year-old producer Noor Alfallah, delivered a baby boy named Roman Pacino, per USA Today. Her pregnancy only became public knowledge just last month.

Pacino has three other kids, including daughter Julie Marie, 33, and 22-year-old twins Anton and Olivia with his ex-partner, the one and only Beverly D’Angelo (that’s Ellen Griswold to you youngins). This is Alfallah’s first child.

While yes, it’s technically possible for many men to impregnate someone at just about any age, it’s not exactly common for men to become new dads in their eighties. And don’t forget, women are considred to be of “advanced maternal age” after 35. To each their own, etc., but you can’t fault people for their reaction to the news—and the internet is nothing but reactive about this particular news.

The commentary on the above Instagram post from PEOPLE’s account is pure, popcorn-eating gold.

Personally, the judgment here doesn’t bother me and I don’t find it hypocritical. Women combat judgment surrounding motherhood and ageism all the time—especially women in Hollywood.

There aren’t a lot of studies about men Pacino’s age becoming fathers due to how uncommon it is, the existing evidence suggests that the sperm of men in their forties and fifties is already lower quality in terms of volume, count, motility and mutations.

These changes mean that advanced paternal age “is strongly linked with a high risk of not only infertility but also for pregnancy loss after natural conception,” the researchers write. “It has become increasingly clear that advanced paternal age, just like advanced maternal age, is associated with… poor health effects in offspring.”

Other studies have shown that an older father significantly increases the risk of miscarriage. Researchers at Stanford University, for example, found older fathers were linked to increased risks of low birth weight and seizures in newborns. Advanced paternal age is also associated with increased rates of various childhood cancers, as well as congenital cardiac defects.

Evidence also suggests that as men age, they can pick up mutations and DNA damage in the cells that form sperm that can then be passed on to the following generation.

Earlier this month, a friend assured Page Six that Afallah, who was previously linked to Mick Jagger, 79, is “not an opportunist,” she merely “loves old people.”

So…there’s that. Congratulations to the Pacino family!

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