Marlon Wayans opens up about learning what unconditional love is after his child Kai transitioned into a transgender man.
While being a guest on Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson’s IMO podcast, the comedian said, “When they went through the transition, I actually went through the transition. I went from denial to complete acceptance. It took me a week to get there.”
Wayans went on to share that because of his child’s transition, he lost some relationships. “There’s people that go, ‘I’m not going to associate with you because you do that, or this is against God’… But I am going to love my baby… I lost people that are small-minded, small-hearted, and self-loathing. So goodbye. And for everyone I lose, I gain 150 more.”
Marlon Wayans opened up about Kai’s transition in a 2023 interview. “What I’ve learned as a parent is for you to stop loving your child because of their choice and their life, that’s a poor reflection on you,” he said. “When there’s people that go: ‘I’m not going to associate with you because you do that’, or ‘this is against God’, listen, I am not here to judge. I am not God. Only God can judge… and if that’s a mistake and we get to heaven and God don’t let my child in, [I’ll] shave her beard and sneak him in through the back.
He added, “But I’m going to love my baby, I’m a father. I’m always going to defend them, I’m always going to protect them, I’m always going to respect them.”
During a 2024 interview with Jennifer Hudson, Wayans spoke about his journey to accepting his child’s transition. “I went through the five stages of grief to get to the beautiful, magical place called acceptance.” He said Kai taught him that he was “a lot stronger than I thought.” They are “the same child they was before, they’ve just got a beard now.”
He said that he will make sure that his children’s happiness is his top priority.
“This is their life, and they should be happy if they do this,” he said. “And if they want to change back, or whatever they want to do, it’s not on me to punch down on my child. It’s on me to love my child. All I can do is love my child ,and that’s what I do.”