Damon Wayans Sr. Opens Up About Initially Running from Fatherhood

Damon Wayans Sr. opens up about how fatherhood and a pivotal moment with his son changed his life and made him grow up.
Damon Wayans Sr

Damon Wayans Sr. is opening up about how fatherhood presented a reality check that changed his life forever.

In a candid conversation, Poppa’s House star Damon Wayans Sr. revealed that he initially ran from the responsibilities of being a young father—until one moment forced him to grow up.

Wayans Sr. admitted that, at the time, he wasn’t ready to be a father.

“I sent his mom to Vermont to live with her mother because I was really just running from him,” he shared. “I was too young to have a child. I just didn’t, I couldn’t see myself with a kid.”

For five weeks, he avoided meeting his newborn son, struggling with the weight of fatherhood. But when he finally made the trip to Vermont, everything changed.

As he arrived at the house, Wayans Sr. recalled hearing his infant son crying from outside. Inside, his son’s mother, Lisa Thorner, was visibly overwhelmed.

“She doesn’t know what to do. Her hair is all frazzled,” he recounted. “And I said, ‘Here, give him to me.’”

What happened next was a defining moment in his life.

“I hold him, and he instantly stops crying. And I’m just holding him and humming, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And he’s just looking up at me. And that was the moment that I realized—I gotta be a man for this guy. I gotta grow up.”

That experience set Wayans Sr. on the path to becoming the dedicated father he is today. Over the years, he not only raised his son but also guided him into Hollywood, where Damon Wayans Jr. forged his own successful career with roles in Happy Endings, New Girl, and Let’s Be Cops.

For Wayans Sr., fatherhood wasn’t something that came naturally at first—it was something he had to rise to.

Photo Credit: Instagram – @DamonKWayans