Gabrielle Union Opens About Zaya Wade’s Feelings Of Being ‘Outed’ As Trans

Gabrielle Union opened up about her stepdaughter Zaya’s feelings surrounding her coming out experiences on the premiere episode of Facebook Watch’s Peace of Mind With Taraji.

Sitting down with Taraji P. Henson and Tracie Jade Akins, the actress reflects on Zaya’s struggled with her coming out experiences and the online speculation about her identity when she was featured on her parents’ social media accounts, according to PEOPLE. 

“Zaya’s peace is non-negotiable,” says Union. “As Zaya gathered more language, she was able to tell us about her identity. She was able to tell us about her sexuality. She was able to tell us, ‘I’m trans.’ And she says, ‘I’ve come out a few times. I came out to my teacher in third grade, and then when you guys posted that picture of me in Chicago at my birthday party.”

“And it’s just Zaya standing next to her cake,” says Union of the photo. “And that picture was dissected on certain Black blogs, and the comments were the guessing as to who Zaya was and why. She said, ‘It felt like I was outed, and I was just standing next to my cake.'”

Union admits that she and her husband, Dwayne Wade, are still trying to figure it all out as parents. She says, “We only know what we know. And we have to be open to embrace that we don’t know shit.”

The show, Peace of Mind, discusses mental health issues, particularly how they pertain to the Black community, and features celebrities, licensed professionals, and experts. Each of the show’s episodes will focus on a different mental health topic. Celebrity guests will be featured on Monday. A licensed professional will appear on Wednesday to discuss the previous guest’s conversation.