Funny woman makes metro Atlanta stop during Pride weekend
Wanda Sykes has been making people laugh her entire life. Her successful career as a writer, author, actress, and stand-up comedienne has garnered a solid following of fans, numerous comedy awards and even an Emmy.
Her public coming out in 2009 at a marriage equality rally and speaking for LGBT rights has earned her the love and admiration of the queer community at large.
Wanda will be performing her standup routine at the Cobb Energy Centre during Atlanta Pride weekend on Oct. 12. In an interview with GA Voice, Sykes talked about her multilingual family, coming out to her parents later in life and her expectations for the Atlanta show audience.
From President Obama coming out in support of marriage equality to celebrities like Anderson Cooper just plain coming out, 2012 provided plenty of notable quotables.
Here is a look back at some of the most memorable LGBT media moments of the year.
OBAMA SAYS ‘I DO’
“I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And quite frankly, I don’t see much of a distinction beyond that.”
— Vice President Joe Biden on Meet the Press, touching off debate over whether he had gone beyond President Obama, who did not support gay marriage but has said his views are “evolving.” (Meet the Press, May 6)
Outspoken: Year provided plenty of notable quotables
“Should I talk about [having breast cancer]? Because how many things could I have? You know black, lesbian — I’m like, I can’t be the poster child for everything. At least with the LGBT issues we get a parade and a float and it’s a party. I was real hesitant about doing this because I hate walking, and I got a lot of walks coming up.”
Comedian and actress Wanda Sykes, discussing her battle with breast cancer for the first time in an interview with out talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. (“The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Sept. 26)
“I’ve just never talked about it. But it’s so liberating. It was interesting to be coming to have a conversation that I was always afraid to have. This is my coming out ball. I’ve been dying to do this.”
—Actor Sean Maher, star of the new NBC series “Playboy Club,” where he plays a closted gay man married to a lesbian Bunny, coming out in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. (EW.com, Sept. 26)
CNN anchor Don Lemon, who recently came out as gay, moderated a panel discussion on black LGBT issues during the annual National Association for the Advancement of Colored People conference in Los Angeles over the weekend. Panel participants included out comedian Wanda Sykes, civil rights activist Julian Bond and other leaders in the black gay community and focused on a wide variety of topics from homophobia and hypocrisy in the black church to reaching out to allies in the community.
The two hour discussion was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center during the organization's 102nd annual conference.
There were contentious moments during the discussion, when NAACP CEO Benjamin Jealous was asked how the NAACP could be taken seriously as an advocate for LGBT equality when members of its board have made public anti-gay statements in the recent past.
“No More Down Low,” a new web television show, premiered Monday in conjunction with National Coming Out Day. The series, hosted by Jonathan Plummer and Janora McDuffie, aims to dispel myths about the LGBT African-American community.
The first episode features comedian Wanda Sykes, actor Wilson Cruz and photographer Duane Cramer.