Marlon Wayans has candidly expressed how finding out his son Kai is transgender changed him as a father and an individual.
The 51-year-old actor has been willingly vulnerable onstage, performing comedy sets for his new standup series, Good Grief, on Amazon Prime. While the ability to be open with an audience is no simple feat, the difficult challenge has been navigating parenthood as a father with two sons – Kai, 24, and Shawn, 22 – and an 18-month-old daughter, Axl.
During a recent interview with People, Wayans detailed a significant parenting period he went through after Kai told him they are transgender. The White Chicks lead went through a whirlwind of emotions, working to shift his initial resistance into acceptance.
“It took me all of a week, and in that week I grew the most that I ever did in my life. You understand the purpose of kids and the beauty of unconditional love,” the Hollywood star told the outlet in an article published on May 31. “At the end of the day, in my heart, only thing that matters to me is that my child is happy.”
Because Wayans uses his life experiences as content for his comedy shows, he checked in with Kai before talking about their transition with strangers. “I have a contract with my kids: ‘Whatever you do in life, just know that there’s a possibility I’m going to find some humor and talk about it,’” he explained.
But the “humor” isn’t intended to elicit only giggles, reflections too. When joking about personal matters, Wayans hopes “to gift not just laughter but some lessons”.
On how his job has helped him grow, the comic admitted: “I don’t know why it took me so long to do standup. Now I can’t stop. That’s my therapy. Life happens, and I go: ‘What’s funny about it?’ I’m literally trying to rescue myself.”
Wayans shares Kai and Shawn with his ex-partner Angela Zackery and welcomed Axl with his ex Brittany Moreland.
According to a March 21 People report, Moreland filed for full custody of Axl. However, based on the court documents obtained by the outlet, Moreland is requesting that Wayans receive visitation rights.
Now, amid the custody battle, Wayans is trying to focus on the positive, refusing to let the public takeover the intimate proceedings. “I don’t do public battles,” he proclaimed. “You don’t have to be together to let your child grow up in peace. Every child deserves that.”
