Dwayne Wade’s Ex wife Siohvaughn Funches-Wade is pushing back on her daughter Zaya Wade officially changing her sex.
According to The Daily Mail, she is accusing Dwayne of exploiting their 15-year-old transgender daughter for financial gain and is begging a court to intervene to stop her from changing her name and gender on her birth certificate.
In court papers filed this week that were obtained by The Blast, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, the star’s first wife and mother of his two oldest children, begged a judge to impose an order that would ban their 15-year-old daughter Zaya from legally changing her gender from male to female until she is 18.
Zaya, as she is now known, came out aged 12 in 2019.
Since then, she has won modeling contracts with brands like Tiffany, Dove and amassed hundreds of thousands of social media followers.
According to her mother, she is also in talks for deals with Disney.
She often appears on red carpets with her father and stepmother Gabrielle Union, who have spoken frequently in interviews about their acceptance of the child and her choice.
But the teen’s mother fears she is being pressured into the permanent change by her father, who is ‘poised to profit’ from the transition.
She is fighting to block the gender and name change, and wants Zaya to make the decision for herself once she is 18.
‘I have concerns that (Dwyane) may be pressuring our child to move forward with the name and gender change in order to capitalize on the financial opportunities that he has received from companies,’ she said in her legal filing.
It was a 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 legal right to make decisions on his daughter’s behalf, and that he was only informing his ex-wife ‘as a courtesy’.
Wade obtained full custody of the boys when he divorced their mother in 2011.
In a 2012 interview with MailOnline, the boys’ mother detailed her agony at losing them 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. Celebrity had a lot to do with it. Money had a lot to do with it,’ she said at the time.
Now, she says her ex-husband is ‘poised’ to profit from the transition.
She cited a conversation in April during which she claims Dwyane told her ‘that a lot of money had been already made and that additional money will be made in relation to our child’s name and gender issue.’
‘(Dwyane) told me that he intended to make our child very famous due to the name and gender issue and also informed me that there would be endorsements/contracts associated therewith,’ she claims.
‘I am concerned that our child is being commercialized at a young age and also of the uncontrollable consequences of media exposure i.e. cyberbullying, statements and/or pictures taken out of context of our child, and the unwanted spotlight focused on our child.’
The law is murky when it comes to divorced parents agreeing on and making decisions on behalf of their transgender children.
In her filing, Siohvaughn claims that Dwyane is legally required to consult her on ‘major decisions affecting care, welfare, activities, health, education and religious upbringing’.
But Dwyane says he is entitled to make the decision on Zaya’s behalf, regardless of her mother’s input.
Neither Union nor Wade has publicly responded to the claims.
The pair are currently in Africa celebrating Union’s 50th birthday.
A hearing has been set for December to determine whether Zaya can change her name and sex without her mother’s agreement.
Turns out Zaya Wade's mother DOES have an issue w/ the exploitation Dwayne Wade is subjecting their child to. In fact, she feels as though Dwayne is exploiting their child for financial gain. pic.twitter.com/hgjNySr5ZF
— thong song enthusiast. (@thePLAINESTjane) November 2, 2022
and
Why so many straight people under comments that have nothing to do with y’all as a TRANSMAN I’ll tell y’all this the mom won’t want a sex change because she isn’t ready for the transition not because zaya is not . Good job wade https://t.co/FaiY8mHaag
— ale (@algelys954) November 2, 2022
and
Siohvaughn Funches-Wade is doing the right thing as the biological mother of “Zaya “ Wade. And she’s right about the father & stepmom using the child for financial gain.
— Alizabeth 🍷💅🏾🐏 (@BookOfPash) November 2, 2022
and
We got Dwayne Wade worth 100 millions and Gabrielle Union, worth millions exploiting Zaya for money. Do y'all hear yourselves?!
— THE BLACK Oprah (@TheeMokonzi) November 2, 2022
Siohvaughn and Wade were married between 2002 and 2010.
They also share older son Zaire, 20.
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