Wanda Sykes Takes on Dave Chappelle’s ‘Hurtful’ Jokes
Celebrated comedian Wanda Sykes isn’t afraid of being called a “woke comic.” She’s also not afraid to call out fellow standup Dave Chappelle for his “hurtful and damaging” comments to the trans community.
In a new interview with Variety, the 59-year-old comic discusses her new Netflix special, Wanda Sykes: I’m An Entertainer, which includes several jabs at queerphobic conservatives, drag bans, and transgender bathroom laws.
Sykes, who identifies as a lesbian, admits she wanted to offer a perspective “on the other side” of Chappelle’s transphobic rhetoric over the past few years. Infamously, his 2021 Netflix special The Closer, which included several anti-trans jokes, triggered an employee walkout at Netflix, tons of online outrage, and continuing discourse about the ethics of making trans jokes.