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Damon Wayans revealed in a recent interview that he didn't see his son, Damon Wayans Jr., until five weeks after his birth. The father-son duo sat down with People for an interview on January 24, 2025, where the elder Wayans made the revelation.
Wayans said he sent his partner, Lisa Thorner, and Wayans Jr., to go live with her mother in Vermont after the birth because he was scared of being a father, continuing that he felt he was too young to be a dad. For context, Wayans (who was born in 1960) was 22 when Wayans Jr. was born in 1982.
"I sent his mom to Vermont to live with her mother, because I was really just running from him. I was too young to have a child, I just didn't, I couldn't see myself with a kid. I didn't meet Jr. until he was like five weeks old," Wayans said in the interview.
Damon Wayans continued that he went to visit the mother and child when his son was five weeks old and heard his son crying loudly when he walked into the house. Wayans added that Wayans Jr. calmed down the second he picked him up, which left him feeling like he had to step up as a man to set a better example for his kids.
Damon Wayans and his wife, Lisa Thorner, had three more children: Kyla, Michale, and Cara.
Damon Wayans and his son recently starred in CBS' new sitcom Poppa's House
Damon Wayans and his son are now starring in CBS' new sitcom Poppa's House, the first episode of which was telecast on October 21, 2024. Wayans portrays the role of Poppa, while Wayans Jr. also plays his on-screen son, Damon "Junior" Fulton. According to IMDb, the sitcom's summary is:
"Follow happily-divorced talk-radio host Poppa as a new female co-host challenges him at work, and at home he's still parenting his adult son, who tries to pursue his passion while being a good father and husband."
According to Variety, Wayans' brother, Marlon Wayans (notably known for his roles in White Chicks and Scary Movie), will guest star in the sitcom as Poppa's brother, Melvin, described as a "bit of a ne’er do well who comes to visit the family with a new business idea."
In a recent interview with People, Damon Wayans Jr. explained how he got into the family business of acting, adding that his father made him and his brother, Michael, act in his early 2000s ABC sitcom My Wife and Kids.
Damon Wayans Jr., known for his role as Coach in New Girl, also revealed that he still doesn't feel like he "made it made it" as an actor. He said that he gained a sense of accomplishment from working on projects entirely on his own terms, adding:
“I still don’t feel like I made it made it, I feel like I’m a working actor — I appreciate it, but I feel like making it, for me, is doing things completely on your own terms. I feel like that’s the beauty of what my family did before me is that they came into the game kind of on their own terms, kind of like ‘take it or leave it,’ like ‘this is us,’ and I feel like I’m still building to that, but I do like all the things that I’m doing on my way."
The next episode of Poppa's House will air on February 3 on CBS.
