Marlon Wayans has nothing but 'unconditional love' to offer to his transgender son: 'So proud of them'

Marlon Wayans, in a recent interview, opened up about his son Kai's gender transition and the actor-comedian has a powerful message about acceptance that can inspire many parents all over the world. Promoting his new comedy special which he thinks might be titled "Skittles" or "Rainbow Child" on The Breakfast Club radio show, Wayans got candid about his transgender son. "I have a daughter that transitioned to a son. My daughter Amai is now Kai," said the star and proceeded to share his own journey of acceptance through his son's transition. 

Opening up about his experience with the transition, the actor said, "I talk about the transition. Not their (Kai's) transition, but my transition as a parent, going from ignorance and denial to complete unconditional love and acceptance." He gracefully accepts that his son's transition wasn't easy for him as a father but he is learning to deal with it gradually. Wayans said, "And I think there’s a lot of parents out there that need to have that message and I know I’m dealing with it." Recalling the humorous side of this unexpected experience, the "Scary Movie" actor mentioned, "It was a very painful situation for me but, man, it’s one of the best funniest hours I probably could ever imagine." He revealed that his upcoming comedy special will focus on Kai along with the 51-year-old actor's own understanding of the transition process.

The actor is proud of Kai and calls them "brilliant." He says that he is still working on addressing them by the right pronouns. Wayans said, "They know I love them, they see me trying. They’re like: ‘I’m happy.’ But I gotta respect their wishes, right?" Being the doting father that he is, all that Wayans wants is for his sons Kai and Shawn to have confidence and free will. "And as a parent, I just want my kids to be free - I want them to be free in spirit, free in thought, free to be themselves." said the actor and further explained that the "more you know yourself, the more you can govern yourself, the more you live your truth, the happier your existence." About imparting this value at home, Wayans said, "If they can’t get that in a household with their father and their mother, how the f**k do I send them out into the world with that kind of confidence?"

When asked if the whole process of Kai's transition was too serious, the "White Chicks" actor said, "I’m just so proud of them for being them - but that doesn’t mean that I ain’t got jokes." Wayans shares his two sons, Kai and Shawn, with his former partner Angela Zackery. On National Sons Day last year, Wayans celebrated his sons on Instagram with their adorable class pictures along with a hilarious caption that read, "Happy #nationalsonday Shawn and Kai. I can’t believe y’all actually smiled like this for class pictures…The f**k?! I told you it would come back to haunt y’all a***s." In yet another Instagram post wishing his transgender son on their birthday, the actor wrote a heartwarming caption expressing his unconditional love and acceptance for Kai, "I’ve always asked people to love me unconditionally, thank you for teaching me what that really means. Be you! Your best you!"