Wanda Sykes
Wanda Sykes
Wanda Sykesis an American comedian, writer, actress and voice artist. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on The Chris Rock Show, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly named Sykes as one of the 25 funniest people in America. She is also known for her role as Barb Baran on CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine and for appearances on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth7 March 1964
CityPortsmouth, VA
CountryUnited States of America
We have to get out there and touch the people and let them know that you are thinking about them and to try and lift their spirits and get awareness out there to the rest of the country.
Sometimes black people really want to hold onto our oppression - 'This is ours! This belongs to us.' You can't just talk about equality for somebody else. Let's pass it on. Let's pass it on to somebody else. At the end of the day, it is all about inequality.
I'm shy. I am. I mean, if I get around, you know, in a room of a bunch of people especially I - you know, I don't know or - it takes me a while to warm up. I'm - and the real me, I'm not as witty as, you know, as the comic Wanda. The comic, she's had time to work on some things.
I guess because of my act, people think that I say things they want to say, and that they can just come up and say anything to me.
I noticed recently, in the last few shows I did, that I'm starting to get people - not a large group, but quite a few people - who come to see me because they love Curb Your Enthusiasm.
It's hard to get fired from the government. You have to, like, kill people.
I don't understand why people really get upset about something that doesn't affect them at all.
How can you stop people from loving each other? How can you get upset about loving?
Now, I think the people who are still doing stand-up are doing it because they love stand-up.
Some black people want to get in touch with their African roots. But then you got some black people that just don't give a damn. You tell them, 'Hey, I just got back from the motherland.' "They're like, 'Where'd you go - Detroit? Did you see The Temptations?'
It seems like when I first started, people got into comedy because they wanted to be good comedians.
Then you had people who wanted to get into comedy just to get a TV deal.
I enjoy stand-up because it has the biggest reward: instant gratification. You can hear the people laughing.
I think the most difficult thing about coming out is just getting to that place where you're comfortable with who you are and you're sayin' hey this is ok and just accepting yourself and not caring what other people think. Because if you don't have that confidence in who you are then, if things don't go the way you wish that they will, you know if people aren't accepting then they can easily tear you down if you're not prepared and comfortable with who you are.