Dwyane Wade is opening up about his 12-year-old son, Zion Wade. In a recent interview for Showtime’s All the Smoke podcast, Wade opens up about his son transitioning into a female and how it is to parent a gay child.
“You want to talk about strength and courage … my 12-year-old has way more than I have,” Dwyane began. “You can learn something from your kids,” Wade further explained. “In our house, that’s all we talk about. We talk about making sure our kids are seen by each of us. Me and my wife, we talk about making sure our kids understand the power in their voice. We want them to be whatever they feel they can be in this world. That’s our goal.”
It was just a few weeks ago that some critics scrutinized Zion for wearing a halter top with fake nails while taking pictures with his family. Dwyane Wade responded to the trolls by encouraging them to mind their business while he cared for his family.
“When I respond to things socially, I’m not responding because you hurt my feelings,” Dwyane Wade told the SHOWTIME hosts. “I’m not responding because I even care enough about what you’re saying,” the celebrity father clarified. “Why I’m responding is because I understand my platform. I understand that I’m speaking for a lot of people who don’t have the same voice that I have.”
He continued, “I had to look myself in the mirror when my son at the time was 3 years old and me and my wife started having conversations about us noticing that he wasn’t on the boy vibe that Zaire [Wade’s other son] was on.”
“And, I had to look myself in the mirror and say, ‘What if your son come home and tell you he’s gay? What are you going to do? How are you going to be? How are you going to act? It ain’t about him. He knows who he is. It’s about you. Who are you?'”
“I watched my son, from day one, become into who she now eventually come into. And for me… nothing changes in my love. Nothing changes in my responsibilities. So, all I had to do now is get smarter educate myself more. And that’s my job.”
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Wade says he not only speaking up for his son, but for the LGBTQ community.
“Everybody get used to it, man,” Wade says. “This is the new normal. So if anybody different, we looked at as different. You know what I’m saying? The ones that don’t understand it. The ones that don’t get it. The ones that are stuck in a box. You’re different. Not the people that are out here living their lives, man.”
