Dwyane Wade Denies Ex-Wife's Claim He's Pressuring Trans Daughter Zaya To Legally Change Gender For Financial Gain
Feb. 22 2023, Published 12:39 p.m. ET
Dwyane Wade has fired back at his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches’ suggestion that he and others were pressuring their 15-year-old trans daughter Zaya to move forward with legally changing her gender and name, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Wade has filed a declaration as part of his petition on behalf of Zaya.
As we previously reported, Wade filed court documents asking for Zion Malachi Airamis Wade’s name to be changed to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade. Further, he wanted the child’s gender to be listed as female.
Zaya told the world she was transgender in 2020. Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union have publicly supported the teen.
In court documents, Wade said he had the “full authority” to make decisions on behalf of Zaya per a 2011 court order from their bitter divorce. The ex-NBA star was awarded full custody of his 2 sons.
However, weeks after Wade filed his petition, Funches objected to the gender and name change. She accused Wade of violating their custody agreement by not communicating with her about the matter.
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She suggested Wade “may be pressuring our child to move forward with the name and gender change in order to capitalize on the financial opportunities that he has received from companies.”
Funches pointed to an April 2022 meeting where she claimed Wade told her that “a lot of money had been already made and that additional money will be made in relation to our child’s name and gender issue.”
Now, in a new filing, Wade addressed the accusations and once again asks the court to approve the petition.
He writes, “Zaya has identified as Zaya since she was twelve years old, and she now wants to legally and officially change her name and gender to conform with how she identifies. I believe it is in Zaya’s best interest for her official documents to reflect who she is and how she sees herself, both in terms of her name and gender.”
Wade added, “I object to the allegation that anyone is “pressuring or incentivizing” Zaya to proceed with this petition. I further object to any allegations that suggests this Petition was motivated by financial gain or the pursuit of fame.”
The parties argued their case before a judge who took the matter under advisement. No ruling has been made as of yet.