Marlon Wayans Sends Powerful Message With ‘Unconditional Love’ of Transgender Son!
TheRoot.com, By Stephanie Holland, Posted December 12th 2023
He revealed that his next stand up special will focus on their journey to understanding.
Marlon Wayans is still that wild child from White Chicks and The Wayans Bros., but over the last few years he’s raised his artistic level, using his comedy to tackle serious issues. The actor/comedian recently appeared on The Breakfast Club to discuss his upcoming special, which features his most personal material yet. Titled either Skittles or Rainbow Child, it focuses on how he supported his son when they came out as transgender.
“I have a daughter that transitioned into a son. My daughter Amai is now Kai, and so, I talk about the transition,” Wayans said. “Not their transition, but my transition as a parent, going from ignorance and denial to complete unconditional love and acceptance.”
It’s no secret that this has been a difficult time for the LGBTQ+ community, as Republican lawmakers have sought to pass anti-trans legislation across the country. Marlon knows that telling his story will help some parents better understand their own transgender children.
“I think there’s a lot of parents out there that need that message and I know I’m dealing with it,” he said. “It was a very painful situation for me but, man, it’s one of the best, funniest hours I could ever imagine.”
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Throughout the conversation, the Scary Movie star struggled a bit with he, she and they pronouns, but also said that Kai knows “I love them” and that he’s trying.
“I gotta respect their wishes and as a parent I just want my kids to be free…free in spirit, free in thought, free to be themselves,” he said. “The more you know yourself, the more you live your truth, the happier your existence. So if they can’t get that in a household with their father and their mother, how the fuck do I send them out into the world with that kind of confidence?”
As supportive as he is, Marlon is still Marlon, adding, “I’m just so proud of them for being them, but that don’t mean that I ain’t got jokes.”
He revealed that the first time he performed the personal new material was at a private event attended by a room full of extremely powerful people, including world leaders and foreign dignitaries. He could’ve done material from his past specials, but in a room like this, he thought this was a much more important message.
“All you world leaders in this summit, I want you to think about these people and this synapse and how to be inclusive of this next generation,” he said about the event. “I see a lot of grey hair here, but these kids that we’re dealing with, they’re different. We can’t have our old ways and expect to do new things, so please embrace the new.”
By the way, Marlon is already looking ahead to his next special, which he says will be the story of his life as the baby of the Wayans family and a “roast and toast” of his famous older brothers. He’s thinking it will be titled Ugly Baby, because Marlon is gonna Marlon.
