Gabrielle Union says stepdaughter Zaya felt 'outed' by people online
Actress Gabrielle Union opened up about her 2020 experiences in the premiere episode of Taraji P. Henson's new Facebook Watch show, "Peace of Mind with Taraji."
During the wide-ranging interview, which focused on the challenges of mental health, specifically in the Black community, Union shared how 2020 has been a triggering year for her because of politics and "a daily barrage of the brutalization of Black and brown bodies."
Union told Henson and Henson's friend Tracie Jade that those triggers took on a physical form that she says felt like "a full body heart attack."
"Usually, my right arm starts to feel like it is going numb ... the way you would imagine a heart attack, but in your knees, in your legs, in your arms, in your chest, in your eyeballs," she said. "Trauma can take so many forms."
During the candid conversation, Union, 48, also opened up about her 13-year-old stepdaughter Zaya's experience coming out as transgender earlier this year.
"Zaya's peace is non-negotiable," Union said. "As Zaya gathered more language, she was able to tell us about her identity. She was able to tell us about her sexuality. She was able to tell us, 'I'm trans.' She says, 'I've come out a few times. I came out to my teacher in third grade."
Zaya, whose father is Union's husband, retired NBA star Dwyane Wade, also told Union she felt "outed" when the couple posted a photo of her at her birthday party in Chicago.
"And that picture was dissected on certain Black blogs, and the comments were the guessing as to who Zaya was and why," Union said.
The actress says she and Wade are still learning from Zaya.
"We only know what we know," Union said. "You have to be open to embrace what we don't know."
