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Wanda Sykes Comes Out

By Rob Anderson - Nov 17th, 2008 at 1:57 pm

Over the weekend, comedienne Wanda Sykes outed herself at an anti-Proposition 8 rally in Las Vegas. Sykes noted that the passage of the California ballot measure prompted her to be more publicly outspoken about her sexual orientation. “You know, I don’t really talk about my sexual orientation,” she said. “I didn’t feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life.” Later, she added: “Now, I gotta get in their face. I’m proud to be a woman. I’m proud to be a black woman, and I’m proud to be gay.” Here’s a clip of Sykes’ remarks:

I think the turnout at rallies across the nation over the weekend shows that a lot of people identify with Sykes on this point. While many people didn’t see a need to pay attention to the battle over gay marriage, speak up, and, especially, protest, last Tuesday changed that. The passage of Prop 8–on the same day our nation elected its first African-American president–made people realize that even in “liberal” states like California, a majority of folks still consider LGBT people to be a threat and unworthy of basic civil rights.

And, just for the hell of it, here are some more clips of Sykes’ comedy routine. Come on, how can we discriminate against someone who is so damn funny?

On gay marriage:

On a racist dolphin:

On wanting a detachable vagina:

On karma:

On American Idol:

Tags: civil rights, gay marriage, human rights, LGBT, multimedia, Proposition 8, video, Wanda Sykes