16 Celebrities Who Have Publicly Spoken Out About Supporting Their LGBTQ+ Kids
16 Celebrities Who Have Publicly Spoken Out About Supporting Their LGBTQ+ Kids
Leyla MohammedSat, June 27, 2026 at 11:31 AM UTC
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Over the years, a number of celebrities have publicly shared their love, pride, and advocacy for their LGBTQ+ children, using their platforms to champion acceptance and visibility. As Pride Month comes to an end, here’s a reminder of some of the stars who have been most vocal about supporting their LGBTQ+ kids:1. Gabrielle Union, 53, has long advocated for her husband Dwyane Wade’s transgender daughter, Zaya Wade. After Zaya came out as trans in 2020, when she was 12, Dwyane said on The Ellen Show, “Me and my wife — my wife, Gabrielle Union — are proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community, and we're proud allies as well. We take our roles and responsibility as parents very seriously.”
Lexus Gallegos / Getty ImagesMeanwhile, Gabrielle said that after Zaya came out, she took it upon herself to reach out to people through social media to get as many resources as she could. “We weren't coming into it like it's got to be our way,” she said. “We're going to mess up. We're going to say the wrong thing. But we had to learn and be led.”
Aeon / Getty Images
“Our home will never be a safe space for bigots,” she added. “I look at problematic language as violence and I'm never going to expose anyone I love to violence, whether that be verbal, physical, emotional, or spiritual. Jerks exist in every area of life. And we function from a place of truth in our household. But if you come at us, oh, be very prepared.”
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2. Back in 2022, Jennifer Lopez, 56, used gender-neutral pronouns while introducing her child on stage at her Blue Diamond Gala performance. “I ask them to sing with me all the time, but they won't. So this is a very special occasion. They are very, very busy. Booked. And pricey! It costs me when they come out,” she quipped, adding: “But they’re worth every single penny because they’re my favorite duet partner of all time. So if you will indulge me.”
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J.Lo hasn’t commented further on her child’s identity, though earlier this year it was reported that they were referred to by a different name — Oskar Jacob — in a social media post celebrating their high school graduation.
3. Back in 2023, Marlon Wayans, 53, revealed that his child, Kai, identifies as transgender and uses they/them pronouns. After initially talking about how Kai’s transition helped his own “transition as a parent, going from ignorance and denial to complete unconditional love and acceptance,” Marlon later shared a 2026 episode of the We In Miami podcast: “People could judge and say what they want, but at the end of the day that's my child and I'm gonna love my baby regardless of what anybody says, and they should be allowed to have their anonymity and enjoy their life exactly the way they want to enjoy it.”
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“You can't beat gay out of someone. You can't hypnotize someone to not be transgender. You just gotta accept and love them,” he added. “You're supposed to align yourself with your children because you want your children ultimately to be happy. And you try to make them happy and comfortable in their skin because you want them to live a nice, happy life. I’m proud that they're showing up for their child, but more so I'm proud that they're showing up as an example for Black people.”
4. Similarly, Magic Johnson — who is 66 — has talked openly about initially struggling to accept his son EJ coming out as gay. “You’re thinking, ‘Is he gonna play sports?’” Johnson said as he discussed how growing up playing basketball influenced his expectations of his son. “And then when I saw that he liked dolls and to play dress-up… ‘What are you doing?’”
Prince Williams / Getty ImagesHowever, Johnson eventually grew to accept EJ and even credited his son with “changing” him. “I had to accept who he was and who he wanted to be. He actually helped me get there, because he was so proud,” he shared. “He changed me. He was so proud. This dude here is just so proud of who he is.”
Gregg Deguire / Getty Images5. When Robert De Niro’s daughter, Airyn De Niro, came out as transgender last year, the iconic film star was quick to publicly support her. Speaking with Variety, 82-year-old Robert said, “I loved and supported Aaron as my son, and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter. I don’t know what the big deal is. I love all my children.”
Dominik Bindl / Getty Images
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A few weeks later, Robert doubled down on his support for Airyn at the Tribeca Film Festival, stating: “The main thing is to support your kids. As long as they’re not hurting themselves, doing anything that’s destructive or anything like that, you have to support them. Period. Whatever it is, you have to support them. And they have to know that you support them. Always.”6. Sally Field has long been a proud advocate for her son Sam, who is gay. Back in 2014, when she was in her late 60s, she penned a heartwarming open letter in support of the Human Rights Campaign after “License to Discriminate” bills appeared across the country. Writing about her experience as a parent of three sons — one of whom is gay — she said, “Sam is my youngest son, by 18 years, and he's gay. To that, I say: So what?”
Amanda Edwards / Getty Images“Growing up, Sam wanted desperately to just be like his older brothers — athletic, rambunctious and even a little bit macho. He wanted to beat Eli at tennis, trounce Peter at computer football and learn everything about every basketball player on the court. But Sam was different. And his journey to allow himself to be what nature intended him to be was not an easy one,” she wrote. “When I saw him struggling, I wanted to jump in. But his older brothers held me back. They told me I couldn't travel that road for Sam. It was his to travel, not mine. I had to wait for him to own himself in his own time. I could make it easier only by standing visibly to the side, clearly loving him, always being there and always letting him know.”
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“Finally, at 20, long after he beat his brothers at tennis and computer games and knew as much as anyone about basketball, Sam was able to stand up proudly and say, ‘I am a gay man,’” she continued, noting that being a part of Sam’s journey has been “one of the great privileges” of her life.
“Sam knows that if he ever marries, he'll have my full support. After all, I like to believe I raised him with the good sense to choose a great partner,” she added. “But there are people out there — organizations and politicians, strangers who have never even met Sam — who would rather devote themselves to denying his happiness.”
7. In 2021, Jamie Lee Curtis, now 67, revealed that her and Christopher Guest’s youngest child identifies as a transgender woman. Speaking of her own learning experience as a parent to a trans child, Jamie Lee said, “It's speaking a new language. It's learning new terminology and words. I am new at it. I am not someone who is pretending to know much about it. And I'm going to blow it, I'm going to make mistakes. I would like to try to avoid making big mistakes.”
Errich Petersen / Getty Images
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“You slow your speech down a little. You become a little more mindful about what you're saying. How you're saying it. You still mess up, I've messed up today twice. We're human,” she added.
8. Actor Marcia Gay Harden, 66, revealed in 2023 that all three of her adult children are part of the LGBTQ+ community. “My children are all queer. My eldest child is non-binary. My son is gay. My youngest is fluid. And you know, they are my kids and they teach me every day,” she said, referring to her kids Hudson, Julitta, and Eulala, all of whom she shares with her ex-husband, Thaddaeus Scheel.
Monica Schipper / Getty Images
Years prior, when Hudson first came out as gay, Marcia said at the 2018 Family Equality Council’s Impact Awards: “My son is gay. I just want to make sure he gets to have a family when he wants one.”
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9. Barbra Streisand, 84, has long been supportive of her son Jason Gould, who came out as gay to her in the 1980s. During a 1999 interview with the Advocate, Barbra said, “I would never wish for my son to be anything but what he is. He is bright, kind, sensitive, caring, and a very conscientious and good person. I have truly been blessed. I have a wonderful son. My only wish is that he continues to experience a rich life of love, happiness, joy, and fulfillment, both creatively and personally.”
Michael Buckner / Getty Images10. Charlize Theron, who is a fierce ally of the LGBTQ+ community, revealed in 2019 that her eldest child identified as a girl, telling the Daily Mail: “Yes, I thought she was a boy too. Until she looked at me when she was three years old and said: ‘I am not a boy!’”
Mike Coppola / Getty Images
“They were born who they are and exactly where in the world both of them get to find themselves as they grow up, and who they want to be, is not for me to decide,” the 50-year-old continued.
11. Annette Bening and Warren Beatty have long supported their son Stephen Ira Beatty, who identifies as transgender. In 2019, then-61-year-old Annette said that she was “very, very proud” of Stephen for “managing something that's very challenging with great style and great intelligence.”
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Meanwhile, Warren described Stephen as his “hero” a few years prior, telling Vanity Fair: “He’s a revolutionary, a genius, and my hero, as are all my children.”
12. Exes Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus publicly supported their daughter Miley Cyrus after she came out as pansexual in 2015. Speaking with E! News, Billy Ray, 64, said of himself and Tish, “We've always been very open-minded. Listen, it's all about love and light. Forget the negativity and the haters. She's rocking and rolling and having a good time. What the world needs is love. There's too much hate…The world needs positive influences.”
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“Even when she was a little girl, we told her, ‘Hey, baby, do what you do and have fun doing it. Do it because you love it, not because you have to,’” he added. “Seeing her happy is the greatest thing ever.”
13. And finally, Dean McDermott's son Jack (who is his ex-wife Tori Spelling’s stepson) was flooded with support from the exes when he came out as gay at age 17. Tori, who is now 53, said, “I was so proud of his confidence. He was who he was, and he was proud of it,” before later writing on Instagram: “I’m so proud of the amazing human he is.”
Andrew J Cunningham / Getty Images
Meanwhile, Dean, 59, said in 2022 that another one of their children, Liam, identifies as transgender. While promoting the movie My Fake Boyfriend, Dean said, “The thing I love about this movie is I got to share it with my 15-year-old who identifies as trans and my gay son. I love that they get a safe space to come and watch this.”
Parents everywhere, take notes! Let us know what you think in the comments, and if you're looking for more LGBTQ+ or Pride content, check out all of BuzzFeed's posts celebrating Pride 2026 right here.
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More on thisRobert De Niro Was Asked About His Trans Daughter, And Once Again, His Straight-Up Response Proves It Really Is That Easy To Be SupportiveEllen Durney· June 5, 2025Gabrielle Union And Dwyane Wade Opened Up About Raising Their Transgender Daughter, Zaya, And More Parents Should Be Like ThisNatasha Jokic· April 28, 2021Jennifer Lopez, Cher, And 12 Other Celebrity Parents Who Champion Their LGBTQ+ KidsKayla Harrington· June 30, 2022
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