Cardi B is sharing her support for Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union’s transgender child, Zaya.
During an Instagram Live on Friday, the rapper, 27, defended Wade’s decision to publicly reveal the gender identity of his 12-year-old child — who previously went by Zion — and voiced her plea for others to “educate” themselves about the transgender community.
Cardi first referred to critics claiming Zaya is too young to realize her gender identity, or to want to transition.
“People are saying this kid is too young to transition, but it’s like. How old is too young?” Cardi said, adding that she’s asked her trans friends, “When did you know that you wanted to change?”
“And they said ‘I always felt like I was a girl, like I was born like this,'” she recalled.
“People are born like that,” Cardi continued. “Like the Lady Gaga song I was born this way that s–t is f–king real. And I know a lot of people are old school. Because you know things, some people are old-school because the parents the grandparents that raised them, or the area that they grew up in.”
.@iamcardib shares her support for Dwyane Wade & Gabrielle Union’s transgender child Zaya. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/fkOyKCJ1wy
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) February 22, 2020
.@iamcardib shares her support for Dwyane Wade & Gabrielle Union’s transgender child Zaya. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/oCFE2a9NA5
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) February 22, 2020
The “Money” rapper expressed that people should be open-minded and try to “understand.”
“A lot of people don’t grow up with trans, gay people, this and that. They just don’t,” Cardi said. “So you know I understand that they just don’t be understanding certain shit, but please try to understand. Because sometimes you will be wanting people to understand you. So try to understand somebody else. Especially when it is a child.”
Cardi went on to defend Wade and Union’s decision to speak publicly about Zaya’s gender identity.
“A lot of people kept saying, ‘Oh why are they putting their kid’s business out there? If you don’t want people giving an opinion about your kid you shouldn’t put their business out there,'” she explained. “Well, let’s say they would’ve kept it a secret? Y’all would’ve been saying, ‘I think his son is gay. I think his son is gay. Oh my gosh I think his son is gay.'”
“When you hold a secret, it just feels like such a burden,” Cardi continued. “You might as well be free and let it out. And while you are free and letting it out and telling the truth, why not educate. Why not educate?”
“That’s how I feel,” she concluded. “Speak your truth. Speak it and educate.”
Wade first opened up about Zaya while appearing on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” earlier this month.
Wade recalled his child telling him, “I think going forward I’m ready to live my truth. I want to be referenced as ‘she’ and ‘her,’ I would love for you guys to call me Zaya.” Union then shared a video of Zaya on Twitter, saying she was “so proud” of her 12-year-old stepchild.
“Meet Zaya. She’s compassionate, loving, whip smart and we are so proud of her,” the actress wrote alongside the clip, below. “It’s Ok to listen to, love & respect your children exactly as they are. Love and light good people.”
Meet Zaya. She’s compassionate, loving, whip smart and we are so proud of her. It’s Ok to listen to, love & respect your children exactly as they are. Love and light good people. pic.twitter.com/G2lLVdD2VT
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) February 11, 2020
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