Marlon Wayans Reflects on Supporting Son Kai Who Has Transitioned: 'Just Got a Beard Now'
The comedian first revealed Kai's transition last November on 'The Breakfast Club.'
Marlon Wayans has endured many changes in his personal life over the past few years, but he’s hanging in there.
Among those changes are the death of his parents and his child, Kai, coming out as transgender. Wayans spoke about his recent journey, telling Jennifer Hudson he’s learned how "to get to the beautiful, magical place called acceptance.”
Last year, the comedian revealed that his oldest child, Kai was transitioning. Wayans has been open about how the situation has affected him and knows that regardless of his kid’s name or preferred gender, Kai is "the same child they was before—they just got a beard now. Okay! Same baby,” he told Hudson.
When asked what he discovered about himself during this experience, Marlon said, "I learned that I'm a lot stronger than I thought I was. I learned that my family—my brothers, my sisters—have prepared me to be a rock in our family."
In addition to Kai, who is 24, Wayans has a 22-year-old son, Shawn, and a 21-month-old daughter, Axl. "Those are my babies," he said of his kids.
He's also had to deal with his parents' deaths in recent years. Wayans’ mother, Elvira Alethia passed away in 2020 at the age of 81, and his father, Howell Stouten died in 2023 at 86 years old.
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"All this was happening to me at one time, and then it was just like this universal thing: acceptance," Wayans told Hudson. "And once you accept, you release, give yourself to God and then everything is all right. It's better, actually."
Marlon first shared the news about Kai last November with The Breakfast Club, describing his own transition as a parent as one that went from “ignorance and denial to complete unconditional love and acceptance.”