Wanda Sykes with her very own bobble head
2009 has been a big year for late night talk shows. Jimmy Fallon took over for Conan O’Brien, who took over for Jay Leno, who has moved into prime time with shaky ratings and big questions about that show’s future. So what better time for an openly gay black woman to venture into the fray, right? Last Saturday, Fox premiered The Wanda Sykes Show, a weekly talk show with the popular comedian. To kick off the show, Wanda Sykes talked with reporters about the group of white men she’s joining, how the ‘gay thing’ will fit into the show and why people need to back off on President Obama.
The bulk of late night hosts are white men (though George Lopez also launched a talk show this week) so how does Sykes feel about joining the club as a minority? “I believe all these shows are driven by the host. So Letterman is the only one who could do The David Letterman Show. That goes for all of us. Yes, George [Lopez] is a minority and so am I, but it’s basically not what you’re getting from a minority, it’s us. George has been at this for 20 plus years and so have I. We’re seasoned comedians and I think that’s what we’re going to bring to it. Dave Letterman, he brings his I’m-from-Indiana point of view…I think that’s where it is, it’s host driven, so it’s going to be more our personality and not just, “Oh, here’s, now you’re finally going to get the voice of a black woman.” I mean, yes, I’m a black woman, but I don’t speak for all black women.
Not wanting to sound too serious, however, Sykes added there may be someone to blame for the lack of minorities in the talk show business. “I would love to blame Bush. Yes, let’s stick that on him. Let’s blame Bush.”
While it’s difficult to not compare Sykes’s show with the other gay woman on the talk show circuit (Ellen Degeneres) with Sykes, is she planning on sharing as much of her personal life as Ellen does? “Whenever there’s an opportunity and it’s funny then, yes, I’ll definitely talk about my personal life,” she said. “My last standup special for HBO, I think I put it all out there. If I don’t talk about it, it’s because I don’t have a joke for it yet. If it’s due to be funny, you’ll hear it.”
Wanda with Mary Lynn Rajskub, Daryl 'Chill' Mitchell and Phil Keoghan
Asked about the Maine elections last week and the fact that gay civil rights was shot down by voters and Sykes expressed, “It’s very disappointing. I know exactly how the community is feeling right now especially in Maine. It’s just sad when someone’s civil rights can be put up to a vote. That just should never happen. The constitution declares a separation between church and state. And I think that’s what it’s going to come down to and what we need to uphold and when that happens I think there will be equality for everybody.”
Sykes compared the Maine election outcome to what happened in California a year ago. “All the propaganda of the gays are coming, gay marriage, and they’re going to indoctrinate your kids and all that crap. So fear, basically fear, and like I said, I believe that eventually this is going to get to the highest court and they’re going to have to determine that the majority cannot vote to take away a minorities civil right, it’s the separation of church and state.”
And whether or not the black community has a stigma against gays even within its own race, Sykes shared she thinks the community does “respect honesty. People can’t fault you for being open and honest. I think you get in trouble when you try to portray something that you’re not and people find out and then you’re hiding something. I think as long as you’re open and honest that either if you like it, fine, or if you don’t, at least you’ll respect it. Well, yes, I get African Americans coming up to me all the time; they show up to my shows. The community is very supportive, so I’m not worried about the gay thing-turning viewers away and besides what else are you going watch.”
Sykes did say if you see posts on Twitter from her and the show, be warned that it is not her. “If it happens, it’s not me twittering. It’s somebody else doing it. I don’t Twitter. I don’t Facebook. I do face-to-face book, that’s what I’m good at. I talk to people.”
The Wanda Sykes Show airs Saturdays at 11pm on FOX
Sykes also had some choice words for those who are being, in her opinion, too critical of President Obama, even those homosexuals feeling he’s not doing enough. “I look at it as give the man some time, he hasn’t even been in office…he was elected this time last year. I remember banks closing, these long lines, people trying to get their money out of the bank, the economy just in the toilet, the Dow went over what 10,000 last week, so he’s doing something right. Bush left a huge mess and people expected him…it’s like giving him a spoon and asking him to go fill up the Grand Canyon. I believe that he’ll get to the gay rights issue and so I’m just trying to be patient and just give him time.”
Back to talking about the show, Sykes promised that it will be a little bit of everything. “I will do a monologue, but it’s not going to be just a string of random jokes. I want it to feel like a live standup performance, so it’ll be more concentrated on one area, and I will have a sidekick, Keith Robinson, one of my closest friends. I’ve known him for over 20 years, very funny. He will be like my co-host. We will have a panel discussion similar to Bill Maher, but it won’t be as, I should say, as serious, not as confrontational I guess.”
Sykes added that she doesn’t just want random people showing up to promote their latest CDs or films either. “You want to feel like these people are on the show for a reason [and] that I enjoy them, we’re getting to know each other, it’s like mingling I should say. But of course, they will be opinionated, but it’s, “Hey, we’ll still have our beer summit.” We can sit down, have a drink and laugh about it.”
Sykes also said that her monologue would basically be about what’s bugging her at the moment. So what is actually bugging the comedian these days? “Well, what’s bugging me is that, I guess, that will probably be my monologue. Everybody’s picking on the president, it’s been only a year since he’s been elected and it seems like the man can’t do anything right. Everything he does, people find some fault with him. I’ll talk about that.”
Sykes is clearly an inspiration to young comics, gay fans and women in general but who did she look up to in terms of her comedy? “It’s Richard Pryor, Moms Mabley. I hate making a list because I always leave someone out [but] I think growing up, yes, those two.”
The Wanda Sykes Show airs late night every Saturday night at 11/10c on FOX and she’ll continue on The New Adventures of Old Christine every Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.
Jim Halterman spends his days interviewing the top tier of talent and creative forces in the television world and then, because he's that kind of guy, he brings it all to YOU! And, because we all like free stuff, check back often for giveaways!! 
