Dwyane Wade's Ex-Wife Files Petition To Stop Their 15-Year-Old Son From Legally Changing His Gender And Name, Accusing Him Of Profiting Off Their Son's Transgenderism
More and more celebrities have come forward to display their children who claim to be transgender, including Dwyane Wade and his current wife Gabrielle Union. Wade shares 15-year-old son Zion with his ex-wife, and he and Union have been raising him to be a girl, but Zion's biological mother has filed a petition to stop Zion from legally changing his name and gender.
Dwyane Wade, 40, is a retired NBA star who married actress Gabrielle Union in 2014. Their union has been a public one, and they have been outspoken about how they're raising Wade's children together, even though Union is their stepmother. In 2020, Wade told Ellen DeGeneres on her show that his son Zion was transgender and identified as a girl. He started going by the name Zaya. Since then, the teenager has been thrust into the limelight, and he documents his transgender experience on Instagram, where he has more than 600,000 followers. Both Wade and Union have been supportive of his transition.
Dwyane Wade's Ex-Wife Files Petition To Stop Their 15-Year-Old Son from Legally Changing His Gender and Name
Both Wade and Union have been very open about their progressive politics over the years, and they've posted many photos and videos of their life with Zion. Union shares moments of them trying on outfits together, walking the red carpet together, etc.
However, Zion's biological mother is not happy with the transition of her 15-year-old son. In fact, when Wade filed a request to legally change the name of his son from Zion Malachi Airamis Wade to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade, his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches filed a petition to stop the legal change of Zion's name and gender. Wade's court documents claimed that he has the full authority to make the decision and Funches was only notified as a courtesy, but she has responded with a filing that claims Wade is "attempting to circumvent the requirements of the Illinois final custody order judgment entered on March 14, 2011."
The custody order apparently demanded that Wade "shall discuss with and obtain input in the major decisions affecting care, welfare, activities, health, education and religious upbringing" of their children before making any major decisions. However, Wade reportedly has sole custody of their two kids.
Funches alleges that Wade "is positioned to profit from the minor child’s name and gender change with various companies through contacts and marketing opportunities including but not limited to deals with Disney," resulting in him "pressuring" their son to be transgender. She says she spoke to Wade in April of this year about the money that was being made from parading their son around as trans.
The hearing for this case is set for December in Los Angeles.