Tag Archives: The Meredith Show

Wanda Sykes Discusses Coming Out

Watch as out comedian Wanda Sykes discusses how she never meant to come out at a Prop 8 rally in 2008.

Talking on The Meredith Show, she says she was called on stage by organisers as she had been vocal about her support for the anti Prop 8 campaign, but she didn’t intend to come out.

However the timing was just right. She married her wife Alex Sykes in 2008 just before Proposition 8, the law that banned same-sex marriage in California, was passed.

Although afterward her speech, she says people treated her like a Unicorn because, at the time, there was very little visible representative of the African American people in LGBT community.

“It just came out. I had just gotten married. So instead of speaking as a supporter, I was speaking as one of the victims. It just happened. I didn’t even think about it… We continued with the rally and by the time I got to the hotel, I’m looking at the CNN scroll and it says, ‘Comedienne Wanda Sykes: I’m proud to be black and gay’ and whatever, I was like, ‘Oh lord. What the hell just happened?’ It was crazy.

It was funny though, because especially being an African-American celebrity who’s out, it was like they started treating me like a unicorn. We’ve never seen one of you before! It’s like me and RuPaul. I guess that’s it.”

Wanda Sykes