Zaya Wade made her red-carpet debut at the Truth Awards
Zaya Wade, whose parents recently said she identifies as transgender, made her first red carpet appearance at the sixth annual Truth Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
The 12-year-old was joined by her father, retired NBA star Dwyane Wade, and stepmother, actress Gabrielle Union, at the event.
Dwayne Wade took to Instagram on Sunday to post a photo of Zaya and express his support. “Everyone allow her to re-introduce herself, her name is Zaya Wade!”
“Last night was Zaya’s first red carpet and we couldn’t have been prouder of how she handled the questions that were asked of her. She has emerged as one of the young faces and voices for the LGBTQ+ community,” he wrote.
Zaya wore a custom Richfresh suit to the event that featured a bright green suit jacket and button-down with flared black dress pants and a hot pink diagonal stripe detail. She carried a hot pink clutch and accessorized with rings and a necklace.
Her parents matched her: Wade and Union wore coordinating black and white suits with hot pink and green tops underneath.
The Truth Awards were created to highlight the achievements and cultural contributions of the black LGBTQ community and its allies. It provides funding for scholarships that support educational opportunities for youth in the LGBTQ community.
Zaya’s appearance comes after weeks of public support from her parents after their announcement that Zaya identifies as transgender.
“Me and my wife, my wife Gabrielle Union … we are proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community and we’re proud allies as well,” Dwayne Wade told host Ellen DeGeneres on a recent episode of “Ellen.” “We take our roles and responsibility as parents very seriously.”
The retired NBA star explained that Zaya was born as Zion and assigned male at birth and came out as transgender to her parents.
“Zion, born as a boy, came home and said, ‘Hey, so I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward I am ready to live my truth. I want to be referenced as ‘she’ and ‘her.’ I would love for you guys to call me Zaya,'” Wade recalled.
The Wades are educating themselves about the LGBTQ community. “We’re just trying to figure out as much information as we can to make sure that we give our child the best opportunity to be her best self,” Wade said on “Ellen.”
Wade signed a deal last year with WarnerMedia, CNN’s parent company, that includes working as a commentator on NBA and NCAA basketball for Turner Sports and working as a creative director for Bleacher Report.
