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| ©Photograph: Katherine and Mariel Tyler. |
She ditched life as a government agent to become a comedian, one so fearless she even has a ‘tampon lasso’. The comic legend discusses cancelled men, coming out – and calling out Roseanne.
Wanda Sykes' new Netflix special, I'm an Entertainer, is a lawless attempt to sum up the kind of bad behaviour in public toilets and to take down transphobic moral panic. She squats down and mimes, pulling a tampon from between her legs, swinging the imaginary sanitary product around her head like a lasso. This is not just an anarchic attempt to sum up the bad behaviour that goes on in public toilets, but also a takedown of transphobic moral panic. At 59, and with 30 years' standup experience behind her, Sykes can segue from the personal to the political, and back again in a hot flash. Her latest special, I'm an Entertainer, has material on her family life, medical sexism, and why Black people can't be "weird" for fear of being murdered in the street.
She switches between material on her family life, medical sexism, and why Black people can't be "weird" for fear of being murdered in the street Wanda Sykes' recent statement "Only God can cancel me" became most evident during an appearance on Kevin Hart's podcast, when the host attempted to draw her on the vexed issue of "cancel culture". Sykes was having none of it and still wasn't tired of Wanda. Since getting her big break in 1997 as a writer-performer on The Chris Rock Show, Sykes has gigged regularly, produced multiple standup specials and had scene-stealing roles in hit movies and cult sitcoms. Recently, she played an eccentric law professor in The Good Fight and reprised her role as slick publicist Shuli Kucerac in The Other Two. Next up, she's seeking projects that show off her skills as a serious dramatic actor.
Sykes is a stand-up comedian who has taken a big leap into the unknown. Her parents were terrified when she left her job at the National Security Agency (NSA) and her parents were alarmed by her career about-turn. Sykes developed an entire comedic skillset and now runs her show, The Upshaws, which will soon launch its fourth season on Netflix. She enjoys working with a group and stands up as her first love, but it can be a little lonely at times. She is also a prolific actor and writer in other people’s shows and is currently co-creator, co-star and executive producer of The Upshaws, which will soon launch its fourth season on Netflix.
Sykes is an emotionally healthy and well-adjusted comedian who came out as a lesbian in 2008 aged 44. She stopped chemically relaxing her hair around the same time and the emergence of her signature look, iconic enough that a 30ft hair silhouette is the stage backdrop in the new special. Her mid-life reinvention was a two-step process, first personal, then public. Fifteen years on, she is still happily married to her wife, an interior designer from France, and they are raising 14-year-old twins Olivia and Lucas in a level of comfort and privilege that contrasts with her own upbringing. Sykes is also a US patriot, wearing a red, white and blue jacket on stage for the special.
This article is originally published in theguardian.com by Ellen E Jones
