The last time I gave Wanda Sykes a great deal of thought was when she was hosting the 2022 Oscars and she had things to say about ‘the slap’. She’s friends with Chris Rock and she described feeling upset and even “traumatized” by what happened. Needless to say, I have to side-eye anyone who’s friends with Chris Rock, even if they go back decades. But Wanda just did a new interview for The Guardian to promote her new Netflix special. Wanda talks about cancel culture and has a refreshingly sane take on the subject, for a comedian. She also voices her support for the trans community, and shares how the homophobia she has experienced is much more frightening than the thought of ‘being canceled’.
While many of her comedian peers have complained about cancel culture, Wanda Sykes says she isn’t worried. In a new interview with the Guardian, the 59-year-old comic explains why it just means people are being held accountable for their actions.
“To me, the whole complaint about cancel culture is a lot of men — especially straight men — who are just pissed that they can’t say things anymore, y’know?” Sykes explained. “And it’s not like you can’t say these things. You can say them, but now there’s just consequences. So that’s why I say I can’t get canceled. Only God can say: ‘All right, Wanda, that’s enough.’”
The Other Two star doesn’t shy away from tackling hot-button issues. In her new Netflix special, I’m an Entertainer, for instances, Sykes addresses the transgender community, which fellow comics like Dave Chappelle have targeted in their jokes. She takes a different tack.
“I welcome my trans sisters into the ladies’ room,” she tells the crowd during the special. “Maybe you’ll make us do better, y’know?”
Speaking to the Guardian, Sykes shared that she “wants the community to know that I’m with them. I think it’s important to let people know where you stand, especially with all the comments everyone else has been making.”
While Sykes doesn’t have a “fear” of being taken down in today’s cultural climate — “I think it’s just knowing who you are and what you will say and won’t say,” she reasoned — she did once worry that coming out as lesbian would affect her career. Sykes was 44 when she came out in 2008, the year she married wife Alex, with whom she shares 14-year-old twins.
“You don’t want to be on stage trying to be funny and having that other little piece of your brain being occupied by: ‘Are they gonna find out? What if I slip up?’” she said of hiding her sexuality. “Now I’m just 100% there.”
The “ladies room” comment in the special is in reference to the gross things that can happen in women’s restrooms. In her new comedy special she makes fun of the appalling hygiene violations I know we’ve all seen a few times. Anyway, what Wanda says about cancel culture is completely spot on. Male comedians today are so thin-skinned and can’t handle people calling them out for saying racist, sexist, homophobic things that cross a line. What they’re really upset about is not being able to punch down anymore without getting called out. I get that comedy is supposed to push boundaries, but as soon as it turns into ridiculing vulnerable, marginalized groups, it isn’t funny anymore. Maybe because Wanda is a gay Black woman, she approaches comedy differently than her peers. She’s had to work harder to get where she is, and she also knows what it’s like to be made fun of for something that she can’t change.
In my opinion, cancel culture doesn’t really exist–but I think it used to. When people complain about it, I remind them of the Hollywood Blacklist–an era in the late 1940s through the 1950s in Hollywood where anyone suspected of being a communist could lose their job. Hundreds of people did. Sometimes they really were communists, but some people were blacklisted just because they had attended a couple of communist meetings in the 1930s. It was an assault on First Amendment rights, and the blacklist had devastating consequences. The actor John Garfield was blacklisted because his wife had been a communist, and the stress of testifying and losing his job probably contributed to his early death, of a heart attack, at age 39. That is cancel culture. Not being called out on Twitter for saying or doing truly vile things. No one is stopping Louis CK from having sold-out comedy shows or producing movies. No one’s stopping Dave Chappelle from winning Grammys or performing at the Hollywood Bowl. Like Wanda says, these men are just mad that there are consequences now. Even if those consequences prove to be temporary.
Photos credit Netflix and via Instagram
I love Wanda. Always have.
She is exactly right. I love her comedy, she is the perfect mix of insightful commentary on our society and being funny as hell.
For centuries, elite males barely had to cancel anyone. They had control over printing presses, radio broadcast, television, who got roles in movies, theater etc etc etc.
They could pre-cancel anyone they did not like before they even got the chance to get a platform.
The amount of times I see men whining over things online that womrn have at least 100 times worse is staggering. They hsve no idea and sorry to say, it makes me feel contempt for those guys of which there are more thsn we like to think.
This is a good point: a lot of the rage around cancel culture comes from the men who used to do the canceling. They are mad they can no longer oppress others.
Also, I feel you on the contempt for men who whine about stuff that we women deal with all the time.
You put this so well, that’s the issue they want to say horrible things and have people clap and laugh. They feel canceled when someone protests, such whiny entitlement.
Yep, yep, yep.
There are plenty of trash celebs who still have careers so unless someone has committed an actual crime (Weinstein, for example), who really loses their jobs? Maybe there’s an uproar for like a week if someone says something stupid but then its on to the next thing. So Idk why celebs are still talking about Cancel Culture, considering not many comedians have taken a real hit to their careers.
@ Stephanie, I agree!! We still have many Hollywood celebs, and especially comedians, that have never been held accountable for their atrocious behaviour and constant attacks against women of all walks of life. And to boot, many are placed on a pedestal to continue to spew their hateful rhetoric against those who are marginalized within society who have no power nor platform to dethrone these vile, racist and misogynistic a$$hats!!
How brilliantly Carina for speak our and identifying what actual cancel culture was with McCarthy and his ilk……. People lost everything simply based on a political vendetta based on lies and falsehoods.
I agree. It has to reach mainstream media to even occur. Most stupid things celebs say go unnoticed by the majority of people.
Carina, very well said about the Blacklist being a true cancel culture.
Wanda is exactly right! The whining from those being ‘canceled’ was so loud and pathetic. It called consequences. Being held accountable for what you say and do in public and on a platform. It’s not that deep. What’s funny to me is after all their constant bitching about cancel culture, the right-wing types flipped out about Bud Light and the trans-spokesperson. It was like the lightbulb came on for millions of dumbasses across the US. They went all in to ‘cancel’ Bud Light (often with unintended hilarious and deeply stupid side effects). Anyway, I guess my point is that maybe everyone can stop crying about consequences and just act right in the first place. It’s exhausting.
My take on cancel culture is that it has always existed: It’s referred to as the court of public opinion. It’s just that historically, the most privileged people (men, especially the white wealthy ones) weren’t judged as harshly by the public.
She’s so funny and on my bucket list to see in person. Every time I scroll past and see Monster-In-Law playing I’ll stop and watch it again.
She’s right. There are plenty of situations where favorites are played and people try to make punching down look like punching up, but victim-blaming is usually closer to what’s going on than ‘cancel culture’ there.
She was one of the first guest hosts of the Daily show and was *outstanding.*
She, as always, is right. Love her, always have and always will. Funny and right AF.
Cancel culture has existed since the dawn of time. You got cancelled based on your political leanings, your sexuality, your religion, everything. Sometimes it’s right; sometimes, it’s wrong. If you live your life in a public spotlight, you should expect that the things you say will be scrutinised and judged by those who hear them. Because we are so connected and aware of everything going on in our society, we are increasingly moving towards a system where you receive judgement from the masses. Why else would all celebrities, politicians and corporations put such an effort into curating their public images?