Marlon Wayans admits he had reservations about his son Kai transitioning.
During a recent sit-down with Neal Brennan, the actor-comedian opened up about his relationship with his son Kai, and his reaction when they came out as transgender.
“Did you try to talk them out of it?” the Blocks Podcast host asked Wayans.
“Of course,” the Good Grief entertainer said.
“I tried to hypnotize that b**ch,” he said, prompting them both to laugh.
“I was like, ‘No, wait, hold on, wait—’ And I protested against it. I don’t say that with pride. I look back on those actions, and I’m ashamed. I was embarrassed,” he added, saying it only took him a week to get to a beautiful place of acceptance.
And when asked what his backup plans if hypnosis didn’t stop Kai from transitioning, Wayans said he tried imposing sanctions and taking allowances, efforts that proved futile.
“[Kai] was like, ‘So what? Fuck it, I’ll starve,’” Wayans recalled. “Nothing was working. This is what they wanted to do. I always said I want my kids to be happy. In order to be happy, you’re not gonna please everybody.”
As the father of three continued, he spoke about his relationship with Kai as they became transgender. He told them he would love them unconditionally and learned how to do that, but there was one condition.
“I’m a father first, I’m a comedian second, and those two clash,” he continued.
“I told my child, ‘I’ma have my jokes, ni**a… and they know my heart, and they trust that I’ma tell a great story and I can’t wait for people to see it.”
Since opening up about Kai’s transitioning journey, the White Chicks actor has become something of an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community. Just last month, during an interview with Shannon Sharpe, Wayans called out Elon Musk for disowning his transgender daughter, Vivian Wilson.
“I have a Tesla that I’m about to drive off a cliff,” he joked. “I don’t like what he be saying about his trans child, that made me mad. You don’t treat them babies like that. You don’t disown your baby. Love your child!”
He also urged people to show Boosie grace after the rapper was heavily criticized over his remarks about his lesbian daughter.
“U can’t paint Boosie as a monster. That man is a father that provides,” Wayans tweeted at the time. “I believe him, his daughter, and God will figure this out. It took me. A second. Give their family grace and time. This is a growing pain. She knows her daddy loves her. That’s all that matters. He may come…”
