Queer kids who’ve faced rejection from their families saw that experience reflected in the first season of Pose, when Damon (played by Ryan Jamaal Swain) gets thrown out of his parents’ house. After catching his son with gay magazines, Damon’s father tosses him out on the lawn, adding him to the legion of LGBTQ+ kids who make up as much as 40% of all homeless youth.
The scene shook Zaya Wade for perhaps a different reason than most. The 13-year-old daughter of Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union, who came out as trans last year, had never seen a queer kid shunned by their family like that. Dwyane recalled Zaya’s response of recoiled surprise as they watched the scene together: “For the first time, she saw that she doesn’t have to live life like that,” the former NBA star said this week in the latest episode of the podcast I Am Athlete.
“At that moment I was like, ‘Thank you for allowing me to be her father,’” he continued, indicating the sky above. “Because there are lesser people out there who can’t get over themselves.”
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Ryan Jamaal Swain caught wind of Wade’s remarks and posted a clip of the conversation on Twitter, deeply moved by the Wade household’s response to the scene. “WHY WE TELL THE STORY,” he wrote. “VISIBILITY MATTERS.”
X content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
It was a touching full-circle moment that demonstrates the varied impact that LGBTQ+ stories can have, and their impact on young viewers in particular. Many queer kids (and plenty of adults) recognized their own fraught experience with family rejection in Damon’s early storyline on Pose. Zaya’s response to the scene indicates a measure of progress; not only has Zaya been fortunate to have such publicly supportive parents, she’s also a beacon of visibility in her own right.
Wade and Union have been fierce and vocal supporters of Zaya, defending her from critics and noting how much she’s helped them grow as people and see the world differently. In the podcast interview, Wade went on to detail his parenting philosophy. “I promised myself if there’s one thing I would do is that no matter what, when I decided I was going to be a parent, that I was going to love unconditionally,” he told the co-hosts.
“All I want them to do is be happy in life and to be themselves,” he said of his four children. “Whoever you are, whoever you’re going to be, it’s my job as your father to facilitate those things and to put you in a position to succeed.” Rather than apply his own expectations or worldview to their lives, Wade says it’s on him as a parent to meet his kids on their level. “It’s not my job to change who you are,” he said. “It’s my job to sit down and understand who you are and where you’re coming from.”
Wade’s story about their father-daughter viewing offered further proof that Pose, which will end after its third season premiering in May, has sparked conversations that will reverberate for generations.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Dwyane Wade is a host of the I Am Athlete podcast. He appeared as a guest. The podcast is co-hosted by former NFL stars Brandon Marshall, Chad Johnson, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder.
Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for them.'s weekly newsletter here.
