Comedian Wanda Sykes is almost always “pissed off” about something, but this time it’s not for the sake of laughs.
Sykes revealed over the weekend that she is “proud to be gay” during a speech denouncing California’s Proposition 8, which has banned gay marriage in the state.
The New Adventures of Old Christine star also announced that she quietly married her girlfriend on Oct. 25, just days before the passage of Prop 8.
“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,” said Sykes at a speech on Saturday in Las Vegas, where she pleasantly surprised organizers of a planned rally (she was in town performing stand-up at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino).
“I got pissed off,” Sykes continued. “They pissed me off. I said, ‘You know what? Now I gotta get in your face.’ And that’s what we all have to do now. They pissed off the wrong group of people. They have galvanized a community … Instead of having gay marriage in California, we’re going to get it across the country.”
Sykes went on to tell the cheering crowd that she was “proud to be a woman. I’m proud to be a black woman, and I’m proud to be gay.”
