On Thanksgiving, Gabrielle Union shared a pair of photos of herself, husband Dwayne Wade, their 1-year-old daughter Kaavia James and Wade’s 12-year-old son Zion, all smiling together as they posed on a staircase.
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“Grateful,” Union wrote. “Happy Thanksgiving good people. To all the friends and family that have my back and all the friends and family I’ve never met who show love and support when everyone is looking and when no one is looking…All praise, gratitude and thankfulness.”
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In the photo, Zion was wearing a crop top and had long nails, and a number of trolls began leaving negative comments on the photo and criticizing the child for his choice of apparel. On Saturday, Wade responded to the unkind messages on Twitter, shutting down haters and sharing that he will always lift his family up.
“I’ve seen some post-thanksgiving hate on social about my family photo,” he wrote. “Stupidity is apart of this world we live in—so i get it. But here’s the thing—I’ve been chosen to lead my family not y’all. So we will continue to be us and support each other with pride, love & a smile!”
The NBA star also responded to several tweets praising him for his parenting.
“Idk if @DwyaneWade & @itsgabrielleu know how POWERFUL & MOVING it is that they’re embracing their son’s individuality. (Damnit I’m crying) In our community, being given autonomy over your body, beliefs, image, & statements as a child isn’t a thing. That child is free & happy,” one fan wrote.
Wade responded, “As a parent my only goal is that my kids feel that i see them, love them and support them.”
He also added the “100” emoji to a tweet that read, “Shout out D. Wade for setting the example of a Black father loving and accepting their children as they are. There’d be a lot less trauma in our community if more Black dads were like this.”
Union also seemingly responded to the negativity with an indirect Instagram post of herself closing her eyes as her husband kissed her on the forehead.
“Lord, you KNOW I’m tryin… whew and breathe,” she captioned the post. “Support is everything.”
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Photo Credit: Getty / Emma McIntyre
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