Gabrielle Union says Zaya Wade felt ‘outed’ on Instagram

On a recent episode of Taraji P. Henson‘s new Facebook Watch series, 'Peace of Mind With Taraji', Gabrielle Union opened up about her stepdaughter, Zaya

Gabrielle Union and her husband, Dwyane Wade have been very open about their daughter Zaya Wade’s identity.

On a recent episode of Taraji P. Henson‘s new Facebook Watch series, Peace of Mind With Taraji, Union opened up about her stepdaughter, Zaya’s, 13, journey to discovering her identity on Monday. She said an Instagram photo became the source of slight confusion for the teen, per Us magazine.

Gabrielle Union Zaya Wade thegrio.com
(Photo by Andrew Toth/Getty Images)

“The comments were guessing as to who Zaya was and why,” said Union about a photo she posted of Zaya in May 2017 for her 10th birthday. Union said blogs and fans “dissected” the image of the child and it made young Zaya feel “outed.”

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“Zaya’s peace is non-negotiable,” said the actress. “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.’”

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But Union added that Zaya knew who she was from a young age.

“She said, ‘Well, I came out to my teacher in the third grade and then [again] when you guys posted that picture of me in Chicago at my birthday party,’” in reference to the same IG image.

Dwyane Wade shares Zaya and son Zaire, 18, with his ex-wife Siohvaugn Funches. He has a 7-year old named Xavier with another ex, Aja Metoyer and shares a 2 year old, Kaavia James with Union.

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