Dwyane Wade has furiously denied his ex-wife’s claims that he is profiting from her transgender daughter and pushing her to change her gender, insisting in a lengthy Instagram statement today that he “never” forces her to do anything would.
Wade, a former NBA star, is vacationing in Africa with his now-wife, Gabrielle Union, to celebrate her 50th birthday.
The journey was abruptly cut short yesterday when his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches-Wade alleged bombings that legal filings claimed he was pressuring their 15-year-old transgender Zaya to legally change her name and gender because he was about to it would benefit.
Zaya was born in Zion but came out as a tranny in 2019 at the age of 12 and has since amassed modeling deals and social media fame. Her father and stepmother have been vocal in their support and now consider themselves staunch LGBTQ advocates.
In his statement, Wade lashed out at the notion that he was pushing the decision and also took aim at his ex, calling her an “absent parent” who selfishly placed herself at the center of her daughter’s transition.
“Nobody in our house would ever force Zaya or anything against their will. This is not a game for my family and certainly not for Zaya. This is her life.
Dwyane Wade with wife Gabrielle Union in New York last month. The former NBA star angrily denied his ex-wife’s claims he was benefiting from his daughter Zaya’s transition, saying he and Union have been her “rock”.
Zaya was Zion until she came out at the age of 12. She is shown as a young boy with mother Siohvaughn (left) and recently at Paris Fashion Week
Wade’s Instagram statement on Thursday morning. He denied his ex’s claims he was benefiting from the child and said she chose to be an “absent parent”.
“My wife and our village were her rock as they helped her pick up the pieces after heartbreak after heartbreak,” he said.
He waged war on Siohvaughn, saying, “I will not sit on my hands and allow her to mock my devotion to my family. The High Road has run out of real estate.
“My attorney will be in touch with the 14th attorney and wish him the best of luck as he tries to unravel this book of lies that was sold to him.”
Zaya has not commented publicly. Her father said she was in class when her mother’s allegations became public yesterday.
Wade won full custody of the child and her older brother, Zaire, in 2011 after a bitter and protracted divorce from their mother.
He and Siohvaughn were childhood sweethearts, married and started their family before he was drafted into the NBA.
He met Union in 2007, the same year he filed for divorce. Union has not responded to Zaya’s mother’s claims.
Siohvaughn is fighting to block the gender and name change and wants Zaya to make the decision herself once she’s 18.
Zaya with Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, who fears her ex-husband is exploiting her for financial gain. She wants Zaya to wait until she’s 18 before legally changing her gender from male to female
“I have concerns that (Dwyane) may pressure our child to proceed with the name and gender change to benefit from the financial opportunities he has received from companies,” she said in her legal filing.
It was in response to an August petition by Wade to allow Zaya to legally change her name from Zion Malachi Airamis Wade to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade.
In his August filing, the former athlete claimed he had the legal right to make decisions on his daughter’s behalf and would only inform his ex-wife “as a courtesy.”
Wade was given full custody of the boys when he divorced their mother in 2011. In a 2012 interview with Web, the boys’ mother described her agony at losing her to her ex after a four-year court battle.
She believes he was only awarded custody because of his money and fame.
“I think influence had a lot to do with it. Celeb had a lot to do with it. Money had a lot to do with it,” she said at the time.
Wade fought fiercely for custody of the children. During the divorce, Funches’ own lawyers cited her struggles with mental health.
Now she says her ex-husband is ready to cash in on the transition.
She cited a conversation in April in which she claims Dwyane told her “a lot of money has already been made and that additional money will be made in relation to our child’s name and gender.”
“[Dwyane]told me that he intended to make our child very famous due to the naming and gender issue and also informed me that there would be endorsements/contracts associated with that,” she claims.
“I am concerned that our child will be commercialized at a young age and also at the uncontrollable consequences of media exposure ie cyberbullying, statements and/or images taken out of our child’s context and the unwanted spotlight directed at our child. ”
The law is opaque when it comes to getting divorced parents to agree and make decisions for their transgender children.
In her filing, Siohvaughn claims that Dwyane has a legal obligation to consult with her on “major decisions affecting care, welfare, activities, health, education and religious upbringing.”
But Dwyane says he is entitled to make the decision for Zaya regardless of her mother’s input.
Siohvaughn and Wade were legally married between 2002 and 2010. They also share older son Zaire, 20, but Wade won full custody of the boys in 2011 after a long court battle
Since coming out as transgender at the age of 12, Zaya has won modeling deals with brands like Tiffany. It will be shown at Paris Fashion Week last month
Zaya with older brother Zaire, stepmother Gabrielle Union, father Dwyane and half-sister, three-year-old Kaavia James
Wade has supported Zaya’s transition since she came out to him in 2019. Above is one of his supporting Instagram comments
A hearing has been set for December to determine whether Zaya can change her name and gender without her mother’s consent.
Siohvaughn and Wade were married between 2002 and 2010. They also share older son Zaire, 20.
In her 2012 interview with Web, she opened up about how the couple had been childhood sweethearts when he was drafted into the NBA.
“He was like nothing I see now. He was very humble, very shy,” she said. She asked him not to enter the NBA.
“We had just married and had a child. I wanted to have time to settle down, to build up as a family. I asked him to choose between his family or him and he chose his family,” she said.
The following year he signed an $8.5 million contract and became an overnight star.
She blames his rising star for the failure of their marriage.
Zaya’s new modeling jobs include a contract with Tiffany. She recently appeared in a campaign for the jewelry brand
Zaya and Union also took part in a Dove campaign earlier in the year
Dwyane has been open and frequent about his daughter’s transition and is now an LGBTQ advocate. He is shown on Ellen and describes how Zaya came to the family
Wade met Union in 2007 when the two threw a Super Bowl party together. He filed for divorce later that year.
Since 2019, Wade and Union have described how Zaya came out to them and how they now know her as their “authentic selves.”
“Our (then) 12-year-old came home … and said, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you guys. I think in the future I’m ready to live my truth and I want to be called her and you and I would love for you to call me Zaya,” he told Ellen DeGeneres during an appearance on her show.
In a later interview with People, he said Zaya’s transition gave him “hope.”
He first spoke about their transition on Matt Barnes’ podcast All The Smoke in 2019.
“I had to look at myself in the mirror. When my son was three at the time and me and my wife started having conversations about it, we noticed that he wasn’t in the boy mood [older brother] It was Zaire’s turn.
“I had to look at myself in the mirror and say, ‘What if your son comes home and tells you he’s gay?’ What are you going to do?
“You will talk about strength and courage. My 12 year old has a lot more than me. You can learn something from your children. In our household we only talk about it. We talk about making sure our children are seen by all of us. We want them to be who they believe they can be in this world. That’s our goal.
“I have watched my son grow into who she is now from day one.
“And for me, nothing changes in my love. Nothing will change in my duties. So all I had to do now was get smarter, continue my education. And that’s my job,’ he said.