I'm An Entertainer

Wanda Sykes spent three decades building an audience that expects her to say exactly what she thinks, and she delivers on that expectation with a relaxed, veteran confidence. Standing on stage at the Miller Theater in Philadelphia, she immediately addresses the collective fatigue of the modern political landscape, explaining why she is completely done with the advice to “go high” when opponents go low. Instead, she leans into her exasperation, converting the stressful absurdities of the early 2020s into sharp, highly specific stories.\n\nHer material works best when she roots large societal anxieties in the messy realities of her own life. She contrasts the challenges of raising Gen Z teenagers with her French wife alongside personal pandemic memories, like trying to attend online church while sneakily smoking weed in isolation. Sykes also tackles broader cultural battles head-on. The centerpiece of the hour is a physical sequence where she mimes swinging an imaginary tampon like a lasso, using a chaotic public-restroom scenario to dismantle the transphobic panic over women’s bathrooms.\n\nThe special was filmed in early February 2023 and directed by Linda Mendoza. It earned three Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Variety Special and Outstanding Writing for Sykes. It followed her 2019 special, Not Normal, continuing her run of direct, unfiltered assessments of American culture.