Gabrielle Union opens up about stepdaughter Zaya, 13, coming out as transgender
15 December 2020, 11:28 | Updated: 15 December 2020, 11:32
The Bring It On star revealed that Zaya Wade felt 'outed' prior to publicly coming out.
Gabrilelle Union has opened up about helping her stepdaughter Zaya, 13, come out as transgender back in February.
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The 48-year-old Hollywood actress has detailed the struggles she and Zaya faced prior to Zaya's sexual identity becoming public.
On Monday (Dec 14) Gabrielle Union made an appearance on Taraji P. Henson's Facebook Watch show 'Peace Of Mind'.
Union revealed that Zaya felt as if she had been 'outed' when people on social media began to speculate about her gender prior to her officially coming out.
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'Zaya's peace is non-negotiable,' Gabrielle said during the interview.
The star explained '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."'
Union's stepdaughter, whom she shares with her husband Dwyane Wade, 38, revealed that Zaya had come out a few times before the public were aware.
The 'Breaking In' star revealed Zaya had previously come out multiple times, both without wanting to and by choice.
'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,"' Union told Taraji.
'And it's just Zaya standing next to her cake,' she continued.
'And that picture was dissected on certain Black blogs, and the comments were them 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,"' Union recalled.
While Union is an outwardly supportive figure for Zaya, she revealed that she's still learning about gender identity.
'We only know what we know, and we have to be open to embrace that we don't know s**t,' she said.
While many celebrities shared support to Zaya Wade after she came out, like Cardi B, other people, such as Boosie Badazz were not as accepting of the news.
Later in the interview, Union revealed Zaya had followed in her footsteps and has begun cheerleading.
'She better bring it!' Union joked, referencing her iconic 2000 cheerleading comedy Bring It On.
Gabrielle Union shares her two-year-old daughter Kaavia with Wade, and she's the stepmother to his children Xavier Zechariah, 7, Zaya, 13 and Zaire, 18.
