And she didnât even need the cover of People to do it.
Having never (so?) publicly discussed her sexual orientation â but having made light of it on stage and on The New Adventures of Old Christine, where her character remains married to Julia Louis-Dreyfus â comedian Wanda Sykes surprised Las Vegas Prop 8 protesters by announcing she is gay and married her wife on Oct. 25. Why speak up now? Because of Prop 8âs passage. âI felt like I was being attacked, personally attacked â our community was attacked. ⌠Now, I gotta get in their face. ⌠Iâm proud to be a woman. Iâm proud to be a black woman, and Iâm proud to be gay. ⌠Instead of having gay marriage in California â no â weâre going to get it across the country.â
At 4:25, listen to an interview with Wanda about coming out. (She says sheâs talked about being gay on stage before; this we didnât know.) She also disagrees with the exit polling saying 70 percent of blacks voted for Prop 8. [Photo and audio via The Strip Podcast]
Update: Additional video below.
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Chris
WE ARE PROUD OF YOU, WANDA! THANK YOU FOR STANDING UP & OUT FOR OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU.
The Gay Numbers
Wow! Way, cool. I loved her before, but wow! cool.
Tim
Alright Anderson, now its your turn.
Farah
Wanda I’m so proud of you lady!
Maybe this will open up a few more ears.
Always have loved her- but even more now as well!!!
damien
She is – and always has bee – AWESOME!
As my grandmother would say, “She’s a classy broad” đ
D.bARR
Love it! I am PROUD for her!
mark
Wanda…smooches for you COURAGE
You continue to amaze and delight me
Geoffrey
Applause all the way around for her…that’s fantastic. I agree with #3 Tim as well….Anderson should step up to the plate. Way to go Wanda!
Mary Taylor
I love Wanda, but even more now. She previously gave clues to her gayness though. As a guest on Ellen she talked about a skiing trip and said ‘girlfriend’. I know you guys in the US gay that to mean just a female friend, but at the time i thought she really meant her partner. She’s fab
Larry Krone
Hooray, Wanda Sykes! You are a hero.
fredo777
Badass.
I liked her stance on gay marriage during one of her stand-up gigs, but never knew she was “fam”. lol
Very cool.
concretepinata
I love how Wanta told the reporter at the end the 70% of blacks statistic was wrong, told hime where to find the correct info, and then he used that same stastic when talking to the next interviewee. Nice job on the moronitude there, Cletus.
froggyola
Wanda, I loved you before, but now I adore you.
Wolf
Good going WANDA! YOU RULE!
Now if only some other Hollywood Tyoes would Come out and Stand up!
WillBFair
My freind thinks this is a strategic mistake. Straights are totally selfish about marraige, and we should go for domestic partnership to get them used to the idea. We’re not just taking on the mormons here; we’re taking on a much larger public.
Alexa
Good for her. At a rally, on the cover of People, matter of factly in an online interview – doesn’t matter how people decide to come out, so long as they eventually do and they show others it is nothing to be ashamed of.
psy
“Instead of having gay marriage in California ââŹâ no ââŹâ we’re going to get it across the country.”
I love this line. She’s right. Those who supported prop 8 really stepped in it by riling us up.
psy
@WillBFair: And that has been done successfully before. Seperate is not equal. In the long run, this is not a strategic mistake.
Jim
Tyler, Tyler Perrrrry, come out, come out wherever you arrrrre!
faghag
Would Anderson ever be aloud to come out? methinks not.
The nature of Cooper’s job makes it impossible for him to come out in support of gay marriage, which I find sad.
but hey, who can say? maybe the silver fox could surprise us and come out in the very near future.
Mister C
Good for Wanda and we Thank you dearly!
MARCH ON CHILDREN!
mark
Is everyone as P*SSED as I am at the lack of media coverage of yesterday’s demonstrations in 150 cities?
you know damn well if African Americans or Latinos staged THAT many demonstrations in a single day it would have been covered Wall to Wall.
If the MSM is purposely down playing peaceful demonstrations, the demonstrations will CEASE to be peaceful.
fredo777
@mark:
I wasn’t aware that blacks + latinos weren’t a part of these demonstrations.
Charles J. Mueller
Wasn’t it Wanda who stood before an audience last summer and said, “If you don’t believe in gay marriage, then don’t marry some of the same sex.”?
Wanda, you are one cool lady and we love ya! Thanks for standing up and being counted. As the old lady said when she pee’d in the ocean, “Every little bit helps.” lol
As more and more people come out, we shall become a groundswell
Slider
Well, I respect Wanda Sykes for coming out but wouldn’t it have helped the NO on Prop 8 even more if she came out before the vote and actively campaigned for NO on 8 and announced that she was married and stood up loud and strong to show the importance of the issue and not after the fact. My question is if Prop 8 was defeated would Wanda Sykes have remained in the closet?
fredo777
@Slider:
Who said she was in the closet at all?
Even if she was, it’s not like she owes us or the gay marriage cause a specific time for her coming out, which is a totally personal decision.
dean
LOVE you WANDA! you are one of THE best comedians/performers i have ever watched! when are you going to put out another DVD?!?!?!??! i LOVE you
bufera
@mark: I saw it on the front page of cnn.com. And, is your comment a treat of violence?
DistinguĂŠ Traces
With all the racebaiting the homophobes have been trying to stir up this week, she could not be making her move at a more perfect time.
Thank you Wanda, and God bless.
[@Mark: Knock it. The fuck. Off.]
RainaWeather
WillBFair. Fuck your friends.
mark
buffera
I make no threats of violence, I do know from 40 years as an activist, that media denial doesn’t make things better, it makes them WORSE.
Demonstrations are like a pressure valve opening in Society, and it’s much healthier to have that valve working properly. When coverage is skewed to dismiss already angry people…they get ANGRIER.
Fredo I do take your correction, that there were many Black and Latinos in our rallies, I was referring to Black or Latino demonstrations which are solely Black or solely Latino demonstrating for racial or ethnic equality.
mark
Traces
I don’t race bait, and if any discussion of Civil Rights vs. LGBT Human Rights offends you…go F*CK YOURSELF!
I seriously doubt anyone does it with you.
KDOGG
Wow I totally missed the signs on Wanda Sykes, now I love her 10 times more!!!
CONGRATULATIONS! and welcome to our galvanizing movement!
Me
I think it’s awesome that Wanda Sykes came out. I too am a lesbian who happens to be a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. I hope all other gay and lesbian members of African-American greek orginazations do the same! Yes, gay and lesbians are every where.
Skee Wee Wanda!!!!
ElizabethCartland
Wanda, you rock! thanks for all the speaking OUT you do. All us white girls from vermont love you.
Slider
Fredo, before Wanda Sykes spoke at this rally did she formally come out? Has she ever expressed that she is a Lesbian? Had a Girlfriend? Dated women? Can you point to anything to indicate she was OUT? No! Clearly, if Wanda Sykes was out and campaigning for NO on 8, maybe it would have helped. It certainly would not have hurt and silence by Sykes to me means she was NOT out.
Defend her all you want, I was stating that it would have helped had she come out before the vote and helped the NO on 8 campaign.
After the fact,is well and good but before the vote would have helped a great deal more in my humble opinion.
If you don’t like what I have to say that is your right.. so be it.
Slider
I might also add that the article is entitled “Wanda Sykes Comes Out” Therefore, clearly the implication is that before she spoke at this rally she was not Out. If any one can point to an article that Wanda Sykes was out before she spoke at the rally she spoke at, I would like to know it.
The Gay Numbers
I will never understand why someone has to prove a position that someone else is making? Why do we need to point to any articles? Don’t you know how to google her name?
fredo777
@Slider:
Whatever.
She was not out in the cover-of-People sense, but if her friends + fam knew she was gay, then she was out.
I don’t have to rent a sky-writer to announce my being gay in order to consider myself out. The article also says that she’s talked about being gay on stage before.
At any rate, my point still stands that it’s none of my business when/if she became more “out” to the media. Her support is appreciated + I won’t second-guess it.
Slider
My point was it would have been helpful if Wanda Sykes stood up and came out before the passage of Prop 8 and not AFTER the fact.
Maybe, just maybe, Sykes speaking out against Prop 8 and campaigning against it might have helped. I wish her the best. And no Wanda Sykes did not come out before the rally where she spoke.
Indeed, there have been a number of magazine articles in which she is mentioned as is she or isn’t she Gay.
The more people come out and stand up the better will be. My point was it might have helped NO on 8 had she stood up before the vote and actively campaigned against it, when it was needed most.
fredo777
@Slider:
Yeah, if.
And if “ifs” and “buts” were candy + nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christma-hanu-kwanzaa.
I tried to be all inclusive + what-not.
los
@ slider,
there’s a difference between “being out” and “coming out.” Clearly, she was out as she married her girlfriend on Oct. 25. Not every gay person has to “come out.” One may argue that it may make life a little easier, but it is their choice. From reading and watching her clip, it seems like she was out and living her life, yet private about that aspect of it because it’s HER LIFE. It does not, however, appear that she was in the closet.
Alexa
According to the Advocate, David Hyde Pierce was at the LA rally. He also recently got married in CA.
mark
The main point about Wanda Sykes, is she spoke forcefully against discriminating against gays/lesbians for at least the past year, whether someone thought she was a straight ally or lesbian, didn’t matter.
Jerald
All of you gays need to be Saved by the Power of God! God will judge all of you for being sexually immoral and perverted! HE can however set you free if you will repent of your sin, and turn to His Son, Jesus Christ in fauth. Why don’t you do it today?
Jerald
Also, for the record Wanda Sykes is NOT GAY! How do I know? For 4 years she dated my uncle Theodore in Los Angeles! That is a fact! She loves MEN. Trust me on that.
Sam
Well, she’s currently dating my mom, so I know for a fact that she IS GAY. Trust me on that.
Jerald
Sam:
you’re outright lying! How do I know? She has said she is “married” not “dating”. Again, for 4 years she dated my uncle Theodore in LA, and we got to know her pretty well, and she is NOT GAY!
WillBFair
@RainaWeather: Thanks for the kind words. I guess this isn’t the blog for me. I’m used to discussing issues respectfully.
fredo777
@Jerald:
She is married.
To a woman, dumbass. Bye bye.
Charles J. Mueller
Jerald knows what he knows…as do all religious idiots. God told him.
Why are y’all trying to confuse him with the facts? đ
TheSnitch
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Mary Taylor
@mark: I agree. In her stand up she has mentioned gays/gay marriage, plus while on Ellen (yes I’m a huge Ellen fan, lol), this year she spoke out against Sally Kern and more recently against Prop 8. While on her sitcom, although not an actual gay character, she plays a woman married to another woman so she can stay in the US.
I agree our perception of Wanda doesnt matter, whether she was out publically or just seen as a straight ally she has spoken well.
Straight allys are just as important (think Keith Olberman)
seitan-on-a-stick
Wanda Sykes just seemed to funny too be str8! Love HER!
seitan-on-a-stick
>too funny to<
karl smith
I know a lot Obama supporters in California that voted against gay marriage.
peo_fr2002
My e-mail is [email protected]