Marlon Wayans Reveals His Powerful Journey To Embracing His Trans Son

Marlon Wayans has shared how he went from being in denial to completely accepting his trans son Kai.

The comedian first revealed that Kai is transgender and uses they/them pronouns in November 2023.

Since then, Wayans has always defended Kai and stood up for them amid a heated feud with rapper Soulja Boy.

Wayans was a guest on the April 30 episode of the "IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson" podcast.

During the podcast episode, Wayans dished on what he learned from Kai's transition, noting that it "taught me what real, unconditional love was."

He added per Them, "When they went through transition, I actually went through the transition. I went from denial to complete acceptance, and it took me a week to get there."

The "Naked" actor also joked about what he would do if he got to heaven and found out God didn't let Kai in.

He said, "Only God can judge... If that's a mistake and we get to heaven and God don't let my child in, I'm going to shave a beard and sneak them in through the back."

Wayans also stressed his resolve to stand up for his son despite people's thoughts about them.

He said, "I'm going to love my baby... I'm a father, and I'm always going to defend them."

Wayans added, "I'm always going to protect them. I'm always going to respect them. And there's nothing anybody could ever tell me."

The proud dad revealed that he had no problem losing fans because he decided to support and defend his son, noting that such people are "small-minded."

He shared, "I lost people that are small-minded, small-hearted, and self-loathing. So, goodbye... For everyone I lose, I gain 150 more."

This isn't the first time Wayans has discussed how he came to accept Kai's transition.

In September 2024, he appeared on "The Jennifer Hudson Show" and opened up about his personal experience supporting Kai.

When asked by Hudson what he had learned from the journey, Wayans shared per PEOPLE Magazine, "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."

He described the process of understanding Kai's transition as an emotional one, saying, "I went through the five stages of grief to get to the beautiful, magical place called acceptance."

Wayans emphasized that while Kai's gender identity has changed, their essence remains unchanged.

"Kai is the same child they was before — they just got a beard now. Okay! Same baby," he told the audience.

The actor, who is also father to Shawn and Axl, reaffirmed his unconditional love for his children, referring to them simply as "my babies."

Hudson praised the comedian's support of Kai, calling it "amazing."

Wayans isn't joking when he says he will defend his son against those who attack him. He showed how far he was willing to go in doing this in February 2025 amid his feud with Soulja Boy.

The entertainers began feuding after Wayans appeared on Cincinnati-based hip hop and R&B station 101.1 The Wiz on January 24 and answered a question about rappers getting cancelled for performing at Donald Trump's presidential inauguration.

He said, "I mean, Soulja Boy, he been cancelled. Soulja Boy better go get that check. I don't think he had a hit since 'Youuuu,'" a reference to the rapper's 2007 hit track "Crank That (Soulja Boy)."

Soulja Boy responded by attacking Wayans on X with homophobic and transphobic slurs, calling him "not funny" and making crude claims about his career.

Wayans fired back by claiming Soulja Boy molested a boy. The feud escalated with hateful language targeting Wayans’ support of his trans son. Many of the posts were later deleted.

Soulja Boy also shared a screenshot of articles praising Wayans' support for Kai and added the caption, "That f-ggot sh-t run in the family huh? @MarlonWayans no wonder you like dressing up as a b-tch it's in your blood."

Again, Wayans responded, writing, "You know you can get cancelled for transphobic slander like this... Fortunately for you that you don't have a career. Apparently, You BEEN cancelled for the last 17 years. Crank that was 2007. We waiting."