Vh1’s “The Gossip Game” has been full of drama ever since its debut last month. But the show displayed a unique display of LGBT acceptance and representation over the past few weeks when co-star Vivian Billings embraced her transgender son, Kayden, on camera.
It all started last week when Billings co-star and enemy, radio host Steph Lova, took an on-air jab at Kayden’s sexuality, prompting a visceral response from Billings. Vivian confronted Steph about her comments and also spit on her for it.
But the real pivotal point came when Billings set down for a heart-to-heart with Kayden, who explained to her mother that she’s not a lesbian but is in fact a heterosexual transgender man.
Although Billings was visibly shaken by the revelation, she bravely claimed that she would accept her child no matter what.
“I accept you for who you are,” Billings said. “As a mother, you’ll never understand the love that a mother has for her child. So when somebody talks about my kid, I’m going to check them.”
“If this is what makes your child happy, you have to support them and love them regardless because the outside world is not going to give them that,” she added. “So why make their life harder?”
Since then, both Billings and Kayden have done interviews about their relationship, Kayden’s gender and sexuality, and how Kayden’s honesty will help to end homophobia in hip-hop.
Although Billings has been proactive in accepting Kayden as is, she has struggled with the transition, as seen last night when she struggled to let go of her daughter and her name, and embrace having the name Kayden tattooed on her body alongside the names of her three other kids.
However, Billings remained set in loving her child unconditionally. “I’m just in a situation where I’m confused,” Billings confessed to co-star Kim Osorio. “She wants to be a he, so I’m trying. To me, she will always be a she. She will always be Khadijah. But I have to respect my child and I have to respect that she’s a grown woman.”
Although Billings’ journey to acceptance is clearly difficult, it’s great that she’s been courageous enough to open up about her and her son’s life to the world and allow people to not only see the unconditional love she’s fostering with Kayden, but also see a genuine example of the life of a parent of a transgender child.
Check out some other celebrities with LGBT kids below. – nicholas robinson
Cher
In his book, Family Outing, Chaz revealed that his mother, Cher, wasn’t at all comfortable when he came out as a lesbian at 18. However, Cher later came to terms with it, and when Chaz transitioned into a man, Cher was nothing but supportive.
