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Michelle Obama Calls Zaya Wade An ‘Amazing Role Model’

Published

4 years ago

March 5, 2021

Michelle Obama Praises Zaya Wade During Virtual Interview

Zaya Wade made controversial headlines after coming out as transgender at 12-years-old which led to lots of backlash for Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union.

Over the past year, Zaya has been thriving as she grows more comfortable with sharing her journey and recently she was privileged to have a discussion with Michelle Obama.

Michelle Obama shared her story with the world in the form of a candid memoir, Becoming, and she recently caught up with Dwyane Wade’s daughter and Gabrielle Union’s stepdaughter, Zaya, for a virtual interview.

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Zaya asked the former First Lady if she had any advice for “teens who want to be themselves and thrive like you have and currently are.” Michelle flipped the script on the 13-year-old and said, “And like you have and currently are.”

She continued, “You know, I am just so proud of you for being just an amazing role model and embracing your truth, right? You’re already doing this, so maybe this is for some other young people that are listening.”

“It does take time to know what ‘yourself’ is for young people,” said Michelle. “So, my first piece of advice is: be patient with yourself, number one. At your age, or in the teenage years and probably through your 20s, you’re gonna be experimenting with so many versions of yourself.

“All young people are trying on different versions, different voices, they’re learning more about their intellect, they’re learning about what they love, what they’re good at, what they like—this is the period of exploration.”