Only 705,000 viewers tuned in to watch ESPN’s D. Wade: Life Unexpected, a candid look at Dwyane Wade‘s life on and off the court.
The documentary drew Less than 1 million viewers despite the heavy press coverage of Wade’s gender confused child, Zion Wade, a 12-year-old boy who calls himself Zaya and prefers feminine pronouns.
In addition to Zaya, the former Miami Heat star and his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, 47, share 18-month-old daughter Kaavia James. He is also father to 18-year-old son Zaire and 6-year-old son Xavier, whose mother is family friend, Aja Metoyer.
Esquire magazine breathlessly called the documentary “a groundbreaking portrait of modern fatherhood” and “a breakthrough as a sports documentary” that “calls attention to the way we’ve viewed and discussed fatherhood in past years.”
An advanced screening of Wade’s documentary at the massive AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami drew less than 1,000 fans on Sunday.
In the documentary, Wade, 38, talked about how, when he was “on a break” from Union, he fathered Xavier. And about his public divorce from his first wife, Siohvaughn Funches, with whom he reached a $5 million settlement that included an NDA agreement.
Esquire referred to Wade’s announcement about Zaya “the highest point” of the documentary.
“I looked at her and said, ‘You are a leader. You are a leader and this is our opportunity to allow you to be a voice,” Wade told openly lesbian TV host Ellen Degeneres.
“Right now it’s through us because she’s 12 years old, but eventually it’ll be through her,” Wade said.
