Boosie BadAzz was at the helm of controversy in the beginning of 2020 when he spoke out against former NBA champion Dwyane Wade's daughter coming out as a transgender girl. Fast forward one year and Wade is thanking the rapper for helping to continue the conversation around Wade's daughter, Zaya, and her decision regarding her gender identity.
During an appearance on former NFL players Brandon Marshall, Chad Johnson, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder's I Am Athlete podcast on Monday (March 22), Wade revisited the conversation surrounding his 13-year-old daughter.
The three-time NBA champion told the podcast co-hosts, "At the end of the day, what I'm dealing with people, I'm dealing with life and death. It's people in the transgender community that are getting killed. It's kids that are murdering theirselves, that are hanging themselves, they're killing themselves because something as simple as acceptance. Something as simple as unconditional love is not being given to these kids and I'll be Goddamned if my child gon' be that person because of something as simple as me supporting who you are."
He continued: "So, Boosie, all the people who got something to say, J-Boogie [J-Boog of 2000s R&B group B2K] who just came out recently … All the people who got something to say about my kids, I thank you because you're allowing the conversation to keep going forward because you what? You might not have the answer today, I don't have all the answers, but we're growing from all these conversations. So I thank everybody for even hating and starting these conversations because those conversations are starting other conversations that we need to have. And that's happening out there."
Earlier this month, J-Boog shared his thoughts on Zaya Wade's recent interview with former First Lady Michelle Obama, calling the conversation "demonic" while accusing Wade and his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, of "using this child for a new agenda."
Last February, Boosie decided to hop on Instagram and share his unsolicited thoughts on Zaya revealing that she would like to be referred to using she/her pronouns, and D Wade and his wife supporting their daughter's decision.
"I gotta say something about this shit, bro. Dwyane Wade, you gone too fucking far, dawg," Boosie said in an IG video at the time. "That is a male. A 12-year-old. At 12, they don’t even know what they next meal is gonna be. They don’t have shit figured out yet. He might meet a woman, anything, at 16 and fall in love with her. But his dick be gone—how he gon'—like, bruh, you going too far, dawg."
Adding to his transphobic rant, the Louisiana rapper said: "Don’t cut his dick off, bruh. Like, bruh, for real, if he gon' be gay, let him be gay. But don’t cut his dick off, bruh. Don’t—and dress him as a woman, dawg. He’s 12 years old. He’s not up there yet. He hasn’t made his final decisions yet. Don’t cut his fucking dick off, Dwyane Wade, bruh. You fucking trippin', dawg. You trippin’ dawg. You trippin’ dawg."
It's important to note that neither Zaya, nor her parents, have spoken on the teenager undergoing gender reassignment surgery.
Boosie's comments quickly resulted in an endless amount of backlash from people wondering why the rhymer openly opined about someone else's child.
Check out the full conversation below. Dwyane Wade thanking Boosie and others happens around the 1:31:18-mark.
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