R. Kelly's Ex-Wife Defends Transgender Daughter, Jay

R. Kelly and ex-wife, reality star Andrea Kelly’s youngest daughter, recently came forward with her decision to transition from female to male. A story that practically broke the internet and sparked so many debates online. R. Kelly has made it known that he wouldn't want anyone addressing his daughter as his son but his ex-wife, in a new interview with VH1 thinks otherwise and says he's wrong for not supporting their daughter.

Andrea told VH1:

• This past June your 14-year-old son Jay came out as a transgender boy on his Ask.fm page. How is your family adjusting to that? Are there any misconceptions you’d like to clear up?

 All I can say about Jay is he makes it so easy to be a proud mom. For parents, we need to realize, [our kids] have their own journey. Parents get it wrong when they don’t support their children. They have to go out and fight every day and face this world. The first battle should not be at home. I think that a lot of children in the LGBT community don’t succeed because the one thing they need the most is foundation. I just tell Jay all the time, baby you won the war. You’re gonna have a lot of battles but you won the war. Mama accepts and loves you for who you are. Your family does.

• It’s pretty remarkable for a 14-year-old to be so open publicly. I mean that takes some courage.

 It’s like Jay; you don’t understand that you’re changing people’s lives just by being courageous. The kid is so courageous. She has…and see, there I go [using the wrong pronoun]. It’s a learning experience. It really is. It’s something we smile about. When I make that mistake I’m like, “Girl, you got a son, honey, get it together. Get it right.” [Laughs]

• Being R. Kelly and your child, there has been a lot of attention surrounding Jay coming out as trans. Was that surprising to your family?

 You know it took a minute for that to click in my head. Then I have to stop and come back and say, in the urban community this is like a first. [For my family] this isn’t this shocking thing. I need [people], especially in the black community, to stop burying their heads in the sand. Let’s quit playing that game that you just chose to be gay or trans. What we choose every day is what we wear. We need to stop worrying about people’s gender and sexuality and think about the choices we’re making with our youth, period. That’s what we need to focus on in my community