Dwyane Wade’s ex-wife accused the former NBA star of exploiting their trans daughter Zaya’s gender identity for his own financial gain.
Siohvaughn Funches-Wade objected to her ex-husband’s petition to legally change the 15-year-old’s name due to multiple factors.
Siohvaughn, 41, claims Wade, 40, is positioned to profit from the minor child’s name and gender change with various companies through contacts and marketing opportunities including but not limited to deals with Disney.
Siohvaughn said, “I have concerns that 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-Wade claims that during an April 2022 meeting with Wade in Atlanta, the former pro baller told her that a lot of money had been already made in relation to Zaya’s “name and gender issue.
“Wade told me that he intended to make our child very famous due to the name and gender issue and also informed me that there would be endorsements/contracts associated therewith,” Siohvaughn said.
Funches-Wade then uses her trans daughter’s deadname in the filing, claiming, “Zion, who was present at the time, answered that various companies were interested and that Disney was a prospective company.”
She also says that because Zaya’s transition has been highly publicized, there will likely be media pressure on the minor child.
“I’m asking that Zaya make this decision for herself when she is at the age of majority in two and a half years,” she said.
In Wade’s original petition filed in August, he argued that he had full authority to request Zaya’s legal name change without the consent of her mother. However, the former Miami Heat player stated in the court filing that his ex-wife had “received notice” of his petition “as a courtesy.”
Wade first shared Zaya’s coming out story on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in February 2020, stating that the then-12-year-old told him and his wife, Gabrielle Union, that she was “ready to live her truth” and asked them to refer to her using female pronouns.
On social media, the teen appears to have fully embraced her identity as a trans woman on her own and has included “she/her” pronouns in her bio.
