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Funny woman Wanda Sykes opened up to Larry King on his CNN talk show last night and shared that she has had feelings for women since the third grade when she put the moves on her fellow classmate. Sykes shared, “She was holding my hand and we were walking and I was looking up at her and I said, ‘I wish I were a boy because then you would be my girlfriend.’ She looked at me like, ‘Don’t you ever say that again!’ I think she saw that it wasn’t like some childhood…she saw that I was putting the moves on her and it scared her. She couldn’t handle it.”
When King asked her how her she dealt with the realization that she was a lesbian, Sykes went on to indulge, “I’m 46, I mean, so back then religion and everything else…you know, we weren’t exposed to gay people so you don’t know. My father was in the service.” King followed up the question with another more intimate one in reference to Sykes’ parents and their reaction to her being gay. She appeared nervous but answered with grace, “We’re working on it. They love me. I know without a doubt that my family loves me and that, you know, we’re working on it.”
Sykes was careful to keep certain things private, but joked that she had to make sure to tell her mother and father that she was gay when they were a six-hour plane ride away. Just in case.
The Emmy Award winner came out to the media after the passing of Proposition 8 in California in November of 2008. At the time she said, "You know, I don't really talk about my sexual orientation. 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. Everybody that knows me personally - they know [that] I'm gay," she continued. "But that's the way people should be able to live their lives." Perhaps the most telling point Sykes made was when she said, “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."
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Nothing was off-topic on Wednesday's show. Regarding Dr. Laura and her controversial departure from her show Sykes exclaimed, “Here’s the shocking thing about Dr. Laura, Larry. I did not know that black people actually listened to Dr. Laura. I didn’t know that black people ever called her show or even listened to her.” When Larry asked Sykes if black people had relationship issues Sykes replied, “Yeah, yeah, but we’re not going to call Dr. Laura! Dr. Laura is not even a psychologist. She’s not a psychiatrist. No, she’s a physiologist. So, you’d make better time getting therapy from your masseuse!” Laughter ensued and Sykes later went on to say, “I’ve been black, Larry, for 46 years and my entire 46 years I have never heard one of my black friends start a conversation with, ‘You know, I was listening to Dr. Laura the other day…”
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