On Tuesday’s episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, proud pop Dwayne Wade remembered the moment that his 12-year-old, Zaya, came out as trans. Wade quoted Zaya, saying that she sat down her parents and said “'Hey, I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward I'm ready to live my truth. I want to be referenced as she and her, I would love for you guys to call me Zaya'”. Wade then discussed he and his wife, Gabrielle Union‘s, role as supportive parents, saying they are “…proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community, and… proud allies, as well.”
Wade went on to comment on the actions that he and Union took once they spoke to Zaya. “So internally, it’s now our job to go out and get information, to reach out to every relationship that we have — my wife reached out to everybody on the cast of Pose — we’re just trying to figure out as much information as we can to make sure that we give our child the best opportunity to be her best self,” he continued. Wade, 38, and Union, 47, are also the guardians to four other children, including Wade’s nephew.