Marlon Wayans Reveals He Is ‘So Proud’ Of His Transgender Child
"They know I love them," he said.
Marlon Wayans isn’t joking around about the love and support that he’s giving to his son. The actor and comedian recently opened up about his adult child’s transition, and his own personal transition as a parent.
The Scary Movie and In Living Color alum, 51, appeared on The Breakfast Club morning show to talk about the new hour of comedy that he’s working on, and a lot of it centers on his kid.
“I have a daughter that transitioned into a son. My daughter Amai is now Kai,” he said to the group.
And while he is now 100% supportive of his kid and their life, he also shared that it wasn’t an easy journey for him to get there.
“I talk about the transition — not their transition, but my transition — as a parent going from ignorance and denial to complete, unconditional love and acceptance,” he continued. “And I think there’s a lot of parents out there that need to have that message. And I know I’m dealing with it. It was a very painful situation for me, but man, it’s one of the best, funniest hours I probably could ever imagine.”
He then talked about what it was like putting together a comedy show based on such a sensitive subject, both for his son, his family, and the country.
“They know I love them. They see me trying, and I’m happy, but I have to respect their wishes,” he said.
He wants his kids to “be free in spirit, free in thought, free to be themselves,” he went on. “The more you know yourself, the more you can govern yourself. The more you live your truth, the happier your existence. So, if they can’t get that in the household with their father and their mother, how the f*ck do I send them out into the world with that kind of confidence? And I’m just so proud of them for being them, but that don’t mean that I ain’t got jokes.”
Wayans shares 23-year-old Kai and 21-year-old son Shawn with his ex-wife, Angelica Zachary. They were married from 2005 to 2013.
He talked at length about how important it is to keep changing and evolving as the world changes around you. And to always remember what’s most important in your life.
“‘I want to do this set right here because it’s important to me,” Wayans said. “What’s important to me? Comedy. What’s important to me? My children. What do I love? And what’s important is change.”
He talked about performing his new hour of comedy to older people, and his hope that they can cling to the past at the detriment of our kids.
“I want you to think about these people and this synapse and how to be inclusive of this next generation, because I see a lot of gray hair here, but these kids that we dealing with, they’re different. And we can’t have our old ways and expect to do new things, so please embrace the new.”
While this is the first time Wayans has talked about his child transitioning, it’s not the first time he’s revealed that his youngest is queer, or that he’s proud of them.
“Happy pride 🌈 to my pride and joy,” he wrote on Instagram in 2019, along with a picture of Kai wearing rainbow kicks. “I wouldn’t change one effing thing about you. Love you to the moon around the sun through the galaxies and back again.”
Now that’s a good dad.
You can watch the full interview below.
