Marlon Wayans Speaks On Adjusting To His Eldest Son’s Transition: “I Just Want My Kids To Be Free”
Marlon Wayans is getting candid about his reaction to his son Kai’s transition.
During his recent appearance on The Breakfast Club, the comedian explained, “I have a daughter that transitioned into a son. My daughter Amai is now Kai.”
In his forthcoming stand-up special, Wayans will open up about transition, but not just Kai’s, also his as a father. “I talk about the transition. Not her, his… their transition, but my transition as a parent, going from ignorance and denial to complete unconditional love and acceptance,” said the 51-year-old.
Admittedly, news of Kai’s transition was “painful” initially, but Wayans is committed to correcting himself when it comes to Kai’s pronouns. “They see me trying and that I’m happy. It just f**ks me up when I say ‘they,’ I’m like, there’s two of you? But I gotta respect their wishes,” he joked, but ultimately, the Respect actor just wants his children to “be free.”
Wayans expressed, “I just want my kids to be free. I want them to be free in spirit, free in thought, free to be themselves. 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, who the f**k do I send them out into the world with that kind of confidence? And I’m just so proud of them for being them. But that don’t mean that they ain’t got jokes!”
Kai is aware of the comedy special, which will either be named Skittles or Rainbow Child. After having performed it recently, Wayans shared that he wanted to set the precedence because “it’s important” to him.
“What’s important to me? Comedy. What’s important to me? My children, whom I love. And what’s important? Is change,” stated the Requiem For A Dream star. “And so all you world leaders that’s having this summit, I want you to think about these people, and this synapse, and how to be inclusive of this next generation. 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.”
Watch the full interview below.
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