Parents With Pride! Dwyane Wade and More Celebs Supporting Their LGBTQ Kids

Parents with pride! Dwyane Wade, Khary Payton and more celebrities have opened up about their LGBTQ kids’ journeys. The professional basketball player revealed in February 2020 how his daughter Zaya came out as transgender, noting that he takes his “roles and responsibilities” as her father “very seriously.” The athlete said during an Ellen DeGeneres Show appearance at the time that his preteen was “born as a boy” and “originally named Zion,” but she sat down with Wade and his wife, Gabrielle Union, to share her story. “[She] said, 'Hey, so I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward, I'm ready to live my truth. And I want to be referenced as she and her. I would love for you guys to call me Zaya,'" the A Father First author recalled. "Now it's our job to one, go out and get information, to reach out to every relationship that we have." Wade said that he and the actress later contacted the cast of FX’s Pose, which made TV history with the largest cast of transgender actors. The Chicago native explained to Ellen DeGeneres: “We're just trying to figure out as much information as we can to make sure that we give our child the best opportunity to be her best self.” [jwplayer 4IbSE3MQ-zhNYySv2] As for Payton, the Walking Dead alum introduced his transgender son, Karter, in June of that same year. “This is my kid,” the actor tweeted at the time. “One of the most happy, well-adjusted individuals I've ever known. My son, Karter. Karter with a K because it reminded him of my name. He chose it. You see, he was born female but has always identified as a boy." The little one “thought it would be cool” to have his dad share his identity via social media. “I told him that there would so many supporters but also a lot of jerks who would be harsh,” the Georgia native explained. “He said, 'Yeah, I know about trolls, Daddy. I can handle trolls.'" Keep scrolling to see more celebrity parents supporting their children, from Charlize Theron to Marlon Wayans. [podcast_block]

After winning her first Oscar in March 2023, the Everything Everywhere All at Once actress dedicated the accomplishment to her daughter Ruby, who publicly came out as transgender in 2021. "I'm in support of my daughter Ruby. I'm having them be a they/them," Curtis explained of her trophy on the Today show. "I'm going to just call them them. They/them, and they are doing great, they're settling in. I just — in my life, I never saw it in a million years that I'd have [these] couple days, and I'm very moved by the whole thing."

The Avatar actress revealed on a December 2022 episode of the "Smartless" podcast that her and husband Jim Simpson's "wonderful" child, then 32, identifies as nonbinary.

The Real Housewives of Orange County alum announced in October 2022 that her son Miles is transgender. "He’s now a month shy of 15 yrs old, so he’s seen the questions and comments made about him on my IG. Miles now has a voice and has asked me to do this post," she wrote via Instagram at the time. "I cannot imagine the strength and courage it took for my baby to do this, but I’m extremely proud of him and I want everyone to understand that love doesn’t change in these situations. It’s unconditional love." 

The former Bravo personality added that Miles is happier than ever since coming out. "My son now smiles naturally for the first time in years! My son now loves the clothes he wears," she wrote. "My son can breathe knowing he can be his true self. My son lights up every single time a stranger calls him 'he.' My son runs with the boys. My son can actually FEEL. My son can live life now with his true self."

"It’s really important that we provide an environment of unconditional love and acceptance for our children and let them know that humans come in all different colors, genders, sexualities," the "proud" reality star wrote via Instagram in February 2022 after her daughter Kat came out as a lesbian. "Once we start appreciating this and practicing inclusion, love and acceptance, the better off we will all be.”

"We are proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community, and we’re proud allies as well," the former Miami Heat player told DeGeneres.

In June 2021, Wade called Zaya his “hero” during a Today show appearance, gushing, “She’s the strong one in this family. … My daughter has allowed us gracefully to be her support system."

One year later, at the June 2022 Time 100 summit, Wade praised Zaya for having the "confidence ... at 8 years old ... to say ‘This is who I am. This is who I want to be.”

The basketball star simultaneously slammed political leaders and lawmakers who are against LGBTQ+ rights. "This is our life. We live this. When you’re out there making rules, if you’re not experiencing this," he said. "Come and live a day with my daughter. Come and see how it is to walk through this world as her.”

The rapper reflected on his reaction to daughter Charlie wanting to bring a girl to a school dance as her date in March 2021, telling The Mix hosts: "I don’t have expectations. The stuff you’re expecting is never gonna be 100 percent. I can’t say I don’t like something or love something I’ve never experienced. If I approached it like a strong-minded male, it [would] run her away. So I followed my wife [Tammy Rivera]’s footsteps." He went on to call the teenager "cool," thanking God for the privilege of raising her.

After revealing in December 2020 that her child Birdie is gay and prefers they/them pronouns, the Dawson’s Creek alum said on her podcast, “Busy Philipps Is Doing Her Best,” that she told the preteen, “You get to build your life however the f--k you want to, and it doesn’t have to look like anything you’ve ever seen or anything that’s ever been modeled for you because maybe it doesn’t exist.”

"She felt free and the acceptance of her coming out was so amazing," the Botched star exclusively told Us Weekly in July 2020 of his daughter, Max, announcing her bisexuality via Instagram.

The General Hospital alum wrote alongside the photo of his son: "This is his journey, and I am here for it. I hope you all have the opportunity to feel the unquenchable love that I am feeling right now.”

The Mad Max star stressed the "importance" of getting her daughter Jackson's pronouns right in December 2019, telling Pride Source at the time: "My daughter’s story is really her story, and one day, if she chooses, she’ll tell her story."

"We all love and support Noelle," the Real Housewives of Atlanta star said of her child's sexual fluidity in a November 2019 episode. "It’s just new for us. We’re just trying to get used to it. … Love is love.”

The former reality star called his son Jack a "gorgeous kid" during a July 2019 "Daddy Issues" podcast episode, saying, "My son Jack is gay. And I’m behind you 100 percent. I just think, you know, you want the best for your kid. And you don’t want to wish a life of persecution and hard times and bigotry, right?"

"Happy birthday to my pride and joy," the actor wrote in a June 2019 Instagram tribute to his daughter, Amai. "I wouldn’t change one effing thing about you. Love you to the moon around the sun through the galaxies and back again."

When an Instagram troll slammed his post, the White Chicks star added, "She’s who she is until or until she don’t choose different. Love her for her not what I want her to be.'

"I'm very proud of him," the Sex and the City alum exclusively told Us in May 2019 of her son Seph coming out as transgender. "I was kind of shocked at what a non-event it was, which is just how far we've come in such a short amount of time.”

The singer's transgender son, Izaak, thanked her in February 2019 for always "staying by [his] side." He wrote via Instagram: "Thank you for fighting with me to complete the man I am. Thank you for your encouragement when things are hard, for the love you give me. The purest heart."

Advocating for LGBTQ families is "important" to the actress, she exclusively told Us in March 2018, explaining, "My son [Hudson] is gay. I just want to make sure he gets to have a family when he wants one.”

"I think it's all about you not trying to decide what your daughter or son should be, or what you want them to become. It's all about loving them no matter who they are, what they decide to do," the former Los Angeles Lakers player told DeGeneres in 2017. "When my son came out, I was so happy for him, and happy for us as parents — and we love him, and E.J. is amazing. So you've got to support your child because there are so many people who try to discriminate against them, so they need you to support them. Because if you don't support them, who is going to support them and love them?"

In March 2013, the Talk cohost told Diane Sawyer that she believes in her daughter Jessica's "civil rights" as a lesbian. "I think my daughter deserves everything she desires in life," Osmond said at the time.