November 20, 2023
Dwyane Wade Praises Marlon Wayans’ ‘Unconditional Love’ For Transgender Son: ‘I Salute Him’
Dwyane Wade praised Marlon Wayans for joining him in showing "unconditional love" to their transgender children.
Dwyane Wade is praising Marlon Wayans for joining him in showing “unconditional love” to their transgender children.
Wayans appeared on The Breakfast Club earlier this month where he opened up about his transgender son Kai and using the experience in his next comedy special.
“My daughter Amai is now Kai,” he shared. “I talk about the transition―not their transition, but my transition as a parent, going from ignorance and denial to complete and unconditional love and acceptance. I think there’s a lot of parents out there that need to have that message. I know, I’m dealing with it. It was a very painful situation for me.”
Wade, who announced publicly that his daughter Zaya had come out as transgender in 2020, applauded Wayans Thursday, Nov. 16 at the GQ Men of the Year Awards.
“I think unconditional love allows us to step in and listen and learn of what we do not know and what we were not taught, especially in the Black community,” Wade told Variety. “I salute Marlon for speaking out and speaking up about this experience with his child just the same way as I’ve done. We’re just the voices that are speaking for our kids right now before they get an opportunity to grab that microphone and speak for themselves. I salute him.”
Wade continued, “This is his experience and what he’s dealing with. He’s coming out selling it from his point of view. It’s great for fathers especially to speak on them from their point of view and how they had to handle it and deal with it.”
Wade and his wife, Gabrielle Union-Wade, have become proud advocates for the LGBTQ+ community since Zaya came out as trans at 12 years old. The couple has faced criticism from the likes of Boosie Badazz and others who criticized the parents for allowing Zaya to transition at a young age.
In June, the NBA champion appeared at the Creative Artists Agency Amplify event in Ojai, California, where he spoke about the backlash his family faced due to the “miseducation” many have about the transgender community.
“I became all kinds of things because I support my child and being who she is. I’ve become gay,” he said, as cited by Today. “I think the hardest part about it is shutting out the world and shutting out the people that really are not in (our) circle. But they have opinions and we are public-facing family.”
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