Being a mother can be a difficult thing, even for a music legend.
Singer Gloria Estefan opened up about Wallace’s reluctance to let her daughter Emily come out before her grandmother, the mother of fame, died in a new episode of the HBO Max and CNN series Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?. (CNN and HBO Max share parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.)
In 2020, Estefan and Emily opened up about conflict on Red Table Talk: The Estefans. At this point, Estefan explained her reasons to Emily, making it clear that she was not ashamed of her but warned her against it out of concern for her mother’s health. He has since apologized to Emily.
“I told him to go slow,” Estefan told Wallace. “Don’t feel her and tell her all of a sudden. Give him a few minutes to process it.”
Estefan shared additional details about her decision to go public with what happened.
“In the Latino community, many of these topics aren’t even addressed, they’re taboo. People know it, but they don’t want to talk about it, they don’t want to see it,” Estefan said. “The main goal we had for these 20 episodes was that I wanted all those people who love me and have followed me for many years to realize that we are all families trying to survive the difficult moments that we have in life.”
Since then, Estefan has received “endless” fan letters telling her the show helped them get out and talk to their parents, the artist said.
“Life is complicated. Life is tough,” Estefan said. “And we wanted to share all of this with the public so they realize these are conversations we need to have. And the response has been really wonderful.”
Estefan applauded her daughter, who is also a singer, and praised her strong will. The industry is tough for young musicians, she noted, but Emily is determined. It even appears on Estefan’s new album Estefan Family Christmas.
“I always told her to do what she’s passionate about. Let her do what makes her happy,” Estefan said. “And he does.”
Translation by Jorge Posada