Wanda Sykes Guest Stars in ‘Drop Dead Diva’s' Constance McMillen Inspired Prom Episode – Video
The episode of Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva many LGBT fans of been waiting for airs this Sunday, July 24 at 9 PM. Inspired by the real life events surrounding high schooler and lesbian Constance McMillen being barred from attending prom with her girlfriend. Wanda Sykes will appear in episode five as Judge Yvonne Wright, who presides over a case inspired by Mississippi high school senior Constance McMillen, who was denied access to her prom because she wanted to attend with her girlfriend.
The episode of Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva many LGBT fans of been waiting for airs this Sunday, July 24 at 9 PM.
Inspired by the real life events surrounding high schooler Constance McMillen being barred from attending prom with her girlfriend, EW.com confirmed this spring that, “Wanda Sykes will appear in episode five as Judge Yvonne Wright, who presides over a case inspired by Mississippi high school senior Constance McMillen, who was denied access to her prom because she wanted to attend with her girlfriend.”
Creator Josh Berman says he was inspired to pen the episode after seeing Sykes present McMillen with a 2010 GLAAD Award.
“When I wrote the episode, of course, my dream was to cast Wanda, never thinking that she would do it,” Berman told EW. “We sent her the pages, and she read the script, and she said yes. It came full circle.” Sykes plays a judge who is “acerbic, very funny and clever, and doesn’t take any crap from anyone, as we would expect Wanda to be. It also adds another dynamic, because as an African-American woman, she has a different perspective than Jane [series star Brooke Elliott], and so they kind of go head-to-head a little bit”
Drop Dead Diva, now in it’s third season on Lifetime network, has already covered many LGBT issues and regularly features out guest stars, including Rosie O’Donnell, Clay Aiken, Lance Bass, and Tim Gunn, not to mention: Liza Minnelli and Paula Abdul.
“At the heart of Drop Dead Diva, the show is about identity and being comfortable with who we are, and nowhere is that more poignant than in Constance’s story of just wanting to be able to go to prom, which is something that most of just take for granted when we’re in high school,” Berman concluded. “The notion of just having to fight just to go to your school dance was something that really resonated with me. As a writer, I couldn’t have come up with some of the plot points in this episode out of thin air. Reading about Constance’s case, and also several other truth life stories about gay men and lesbian women who were denied access to prom that inform this episode, it’s just a head scratcher to me.”
Watch the best episode of Drop Dead Diva yet Sunday, July 24 at 9PM on Lifetime and check out full episodes, behind the scenes video, and so much more online now.
