*Wanda Sykes has never been shy about the racial dynamics inside her own home. She’s a Black woman married to a white French woman, raising two white children — material Sykes herself has mined for comedy for years. So naturally, Ziwe turned the whole thing into an interrogation.
Sykes appears on the latest episode of Ziwe Fumudoh’s YouTube series “Iconic Guest,” where the deadpan host pushes her through an increasingly ridiculous examination of race, motherhood, reparations and, eventually, whether Sykes can prove she actually has Black friends.
“Should we unpack the fact that you’re the only Black person in your nuclear family?” Ziwe asks.
“We can do that,” Sykes replies before seeing exactly where this is headed. “I take care of white people. That’s what I do. All right. Is that what you want me to say Z-Wade? Is that it? Yes. I take care of white people. You hear that Ms. Tubman? That’s what I’m doing. You got me.”
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Ziwe Takes The Family Jokes Somewhere Else
Ziwe then asks whether Sykes’ children owe her reparations because “their success was built upon your unpaid labor.”
“I don’t know. I don’t think they, um, owe me reparations because I mean, they have no money,” Sykes fires back.
The questioning gets even more unhinged when Ziwe references Sykes joking in her stand-up about spanking one of her children and asks whether her ancestors were smiling — or whether it felt like payback for redlining.
“I didn’t have like a Roots flashback moment. What is wrong with you?” Sykes responds. “What do you think I was in there? Take that cracker. What is wrong with you?”
The exchange works partly because Ziwe is taking jokes Sykes has already made about her family and stretching them to absurd conclusions.
In her 2019 Netflix special “Not Normal,” Sykes joked, “I’m married to a white French woman, and we have two white kids.” She added that she was “living with a houseful of white people.” In a subsequent “Fresh Air” interview, Sykes said she sometimes notices being racially outnumbered when extended family and friends visit but doesn’t find it uncomfortable.
Then Ziwe Demands Five Black Friends
The interview eventually reaches that dreaded test usually aimed at white people trying to establish their racial bona fides.
“How many Black friends do you have?” Ziwe asks.
“Too many. Too many to count,” Sykes says, estimating she has hundreds.
Naturally, Ziwe wants receipts.
When Sykes refuses to name five, Ziwe points out that she had quickly mentioned Amy Schumer but suddenly couldn’t produce five Black names.
“I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” Sykes says before naming comedian Keith Robinson and eventually rattling off Dawn, Tracy, Yogi, Kia, Katrina, Wayne, Jeremiah and Mike.
The bit isn’t really exposing some secret contradiction in Sykes’ life. Ziwe’s interviews are built around provocative questions, awkward premises and guests willing to play along; Ziwe has described the encounters as comedic collaborations.
Sykes clearly understands the assignment.
Years after turning the experience of being the lone Black person in her household into stand-up material, she has finally encountered someone willing to ask the question nobody knew needed answering: Can Wanda Sykes name five Black friends?
Apparently, yes. And then some.
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