It’s been more than three decades since Wanda Sykes first stepped onto the stand-up stage—and sometimes it feels like she’s just now getting her due.
The legendary comedian just received her first-ever Grammy nomination for her Netflix special I’m an Entertainer, which also landed nods at the Emmys and Golden Globes. The hard-hitting hour takes on many of the most divisive topics of the year without pandering to either side or ever punching down. “It’s just noise. And I like to try to cut through that,” she says of the way her comedy reacts to the broader political conversation.
In this episode of The Last Laugh podcast, Sykes takes on everything from Dave Chappelle’s anti-trans jokes to why she was shocked Will Smith didn’t get dragged out of the Oscars for slapping her friend Chris Rock. She also discusses hitting the road for her Please & Thank You tour during an election year, how she thinks about her place in the comedy pantheon, and a lot more.
