Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union‘s latest red carpet appearance was with a very special guest.
On Saturday, the couple attended the 2020 Truth Awards with Wade’s 12-year-old daughter Zaya for the teenager’s first red carpet appearance since she came out as transgender in February.
Zaya wore a bright green tuxedo jacket with black pants, a pink sash and black boots as she posed for photos beside Wade, 38, and Union, 47, both of whom wore coordinating outfits with Zaya. They also accessorized with matching natural sapphire necklaces. Zaya and Union finished their looks with matching Ofira Jewels diamond band rings.
During the ceremony, both Union and Wade made speeches, thanking their friends, stylist Jason Bolden and his husband Adair for supporting Zaya.
“It was really important for Zaya’s first red carpet to be celebrating black excellence in her community, real allies show up,” Union said, which garnered huge applause from the audience.
“It goes beyond tweets and retweets and a check here and there,” she said. “You have to show up and show what actual leadership looks like. You need to know when to shut the hell up and pass the microphone like I’m about to do right now.”
Wade then took the microphone and spoke to the crowd about how he and his wife were educated once Zaya came out to them.
“When our 8-year-old daughter Zaya Wade came home and said she has something to tell us, when she came out to us as a family, we admit we weren’t educated on the LGBTQ+ community as we should have been,” he said.
“So, we immediately picked up the phone and reached out to our good friends Jason and Adair,” Wade continued. “They helped us navigate the right language to use, the questions to ask, and what to listen for. They also reminded us to make sure Zaya knew her community and felt the love and support inside and outside her home. From working closely with Zaya to design her rooms in our homes to making sure that her authentic self was represented and that her bedroom felt like a sanctuary.”
“Now that may seem small, but they took the time to make sure Zaya felt seen and heard as she created her own space for us was key,” he said, before announcing that Jason and Adair were named Zaya’s godparents, which earned huge applause from the audience.
On Sunday, Wade shared a photo of Zaya from the outing on Instagram, telling his followers, “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,” the former NBA player wrote. “She has emerged as one of the young faces and voices for the LGBTQ+ community. #truthawards.”
Union also shared a number of shots of she, Wade, and Zaya, captioning one of them, “We keep moving forward. We keep leading with love, light, and hope for a better more inclusive world. Stay put and stay mad if you want. We keep it pushing. Always. ❤❤❤.”
Last month, Union introduced the world to Zaya when the pre-teen came out as transgender.
“Meet Zaya,” the Bring It On actress wrote on Twitter at the time. “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.”
In a separate tweet, Union thanked the many people who rallied to support Zaya and the Wade family.
“Huge huge huge THANK YOU to everyone who’s dms I slid into, friends & family who provided information, resources, love & encouragement,” she wrote. “We are humble LGBTQ+ allies with ALOT to learn & grateful for all the support. We encourage y’all to check us as needed! Again, thank you!”
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