Good Doctor star Harper Hill admits he made a ‘mistake’ after misgendering Dwyane Wade’s daughter Zaya on her birthday
THE Good Doctor star Harper Hill has admitted he "made a mistake" after misgendering Dwyane Wade's daughter Zaya.
The actor, 54, insisted he's only "human" after sparking outrage for calling Zaya - who recently came out as trans -
Amid the backlash, Harper tweeted: "As a family friend I feel so bad that I may have taken away from the celebration. Zaya’s courage and strength is something I celebrate.
"And there was absolutely no malicious intent to my post."
He went on: "I am human and I am learning and often trying to do too many things which leads to mistakes like this one. I am sorry.
"I’m sorry to those my post offended, that was certainly not my intention."
The TV star added that he hadn't meant for his comments to take away from Zaya's big day.
He wrote: "There are many challenging things going on in the world right now and I certainly didn’t intend my birthday wish to be a negative distraction and certainly didn’t want it to take away from a celebratory birthday for Zaya.
"I extend my heartfelt apology to Zaya, the Wade family."
Harper misgendered Zaya in the comments of Dwyane Wade's wife Gabrielle Union's birthday tribute to her stepdaughter, Zaya.
He wrote: “Happy Birthday young man!! Read Letters to a Young Brother!!!
"Your mom wrote something in it!! You’ll love it! Have a great day!!”
On top of calling Dwyane’s daughter a “young man,” Hill also used the comment as an opportunity to plug his book, a self-help guide geared toward men.
Outraged social media users called his comment to Zaya “disgusting,” “Blatantly disrespectful,” and “full of malice.”
Others couldn’t believe the Good Doctor star “had the nerve to do that under HER comment section."
Hill stars as Dr. Marcus Andrews on ABC’s , which recently aired its season 3 finale, and one fan of the series is asking the show how and “why” they could employ someone who “acts like this toward children.”
Dwyane called Zaya “young lady" when opening up earlier this year about
On Good Morning America in February, the former basketball star also recalled her telling him: "I don't think I'm gay.
";This is how I identify myself. This is my gender identity.
"I identify as a young lady. I think I'm a straight trans (girl) because I like boys."
He added during the interview that “this is her life every day,” and he only wants to love and support her.