Discussing the 13-year-old's coming journey in a new interview, the 48-year-old 'Bring It On' star insists in a new interview that 'Zaya's peace is non-negotiable.'
- Dec 15, 2020
AceShowbiz - Gabrielle Union has been a supportive stepmom for husband Dwyane Wade's daughter Zaya Wade who came out as transgender. Discussing the 13-year-old's coming journey in a new interview, the "Bring It On" star revealed that Zaya felt "outed" before making a big decision by going public with her sexuality.
"Zaya's peace is non-negotiable," Gabrielle shared during her appearance in the Monday, December 14, episode of Taraji P. Henson's new Facebook Watch series, "Peace of Mind With Taraji". "As Zaya gathered more language, she was able to tell us about her identity. She was able to tell us about her sexuality."
"She was able to tell us, 'I'm trans.' And she says, 'I've come out a few times. I came out to my teacher in third grade, and then when you guys posted that picture of me in Chicago at my birthday party,' " Gabrielle continued.
Addressing the picture of her and Zaya posing with a birthday cake in June 2020, the 48-year-old actress said, "And it's just Zaya standing next to her cake. And that picture was dissected on certain Black blogs, and the comments were the guessing as to who Zaya was and why. ... She said, 'It felt like I was outed, and I was just standing next to my cake.' "
Dwayne confirmed that his daughter has been transitioned to woman during his appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" back in February, saying that he and Gabrielle are "proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community."
"As I'm raising [Zaya], as I'm raising my kids, you just try to put them in the best situations to be able to succeed in life," he said to PEOPLE. "How I do that, and how me and my wife decide to do that, may be different than another family, but we want them to know there’s always unconditional love, that it will always be support. We've got you, no matter what. And we see you. I see you how you see you."
