Marlon Wayans Opens Up About Embracing His Trans Son
Comedian Marlon Wayans is the father of two children, including one who recently came out as transgender. During an interview with The Breakfast Club, the youngest Wayans brother discussed a planned comedy special he's thinking about calling Skittles or Rainbow Child, where he opens up about their transition process and how he has dealt with it as a father.
"I have a daughter that transitioned into a son. My daughter Amai is now Kai," he said. "And so 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. And I think there's a lot of parents out there that need to have that message. And I'm dealing with it. It was a very painful situation for me."
He went on to discuss his own mentality and how he's tried to Kai support, even when things have been confusing or unfamiliar to him.
"I'm still working on the pronouns," he added after fumbling over Kai's identity a few times. "They know I love them. They see me trying and I'm happy. I gotta respect their wishes, and as a parent I just want my kids to be free.... 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 fuck do I send them out into the world with that kind of confidence? And I'm just so proud of them for being them."
He described performing the comedy set for a group of world leaders, saying he felt the message was important to hear.
"I want you to think about these people and how to be inclusive of this next generation," he said. "Because I see a lot of gray hair here, but these kids that we're dealing with, they're different. And we can't have our old ways and expect to do new things. So please embrace the new."
Wayans' son Kai is 23 years old. He also has a younger son named Shawn Howell Wayans, who is 21.
Check out his full interview below:
