Comedian Wanda Sykes argues that modern comics are afraid of critics telling the wrong jokes.

Comedian Wanda Sykes said in an interview Monday that many comedians are afraid to tell certain jokes because of fear, but argued that it’s important to tell them anyway.

Charlamagne tha God and the rest of the “Breakfast Club” radio show interviewed Sykes and remembered his great comedic career. Sykes got his big break on “The Chris Rock Show,” for which he won an Emmy in 1999, and went on to have a successful career doing stand-up and guest roles on sitcoms like “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” He also hosted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2009 and was named one of the “25 Funniest People in America” ​​by Entertainment Weekly.

“The thing I loved about the ‘Chris Rock Show’ — it was full of uncomfortable truths,” Charlamagne recalled. “Even all that time was full of uncomfortable truths, right? Do you think comedy is still allowed to be that honest? Or are we in that age now where everyone wants comedy, but they don’t want the truth to come. [with it]?”

“No. You know what? I guess you’re allowed to do it, but who wants to? You know what I’m saying?” Sykes replied, who did not shy away from burning himself in politics. “When I try to fill the arena, you know what I mean, you can’t be that ordinary. You should appeal to the crowd. And sometimes, right now, what the crowd wants to hear is bad, you know.”

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“I’m glad you said that. I am [going to] do it,” Jess Hilarious, a stand-up comedian himself, replied, “But when I do, when I do comedy, people go crazy.”

“Who gives a f—? You can’t do it for them. You have to do it for you. You have to say what you want to say. And hey, if what I want to say and what makes me feel, you know, well with my gift that I have, as long as I can get maybe 600 people, then those are the 600 people that, you know, you should talk to.”

“But do people get offended too quickly?” DJ Envy asked. “Where it’s like, you know, in those days the jokes just flew. It didn’t matter. You laughed at everybody. It could be a disabled person. It could be at this person. It doesn’t matter. People laugh. Now it doesn’t seem like they’re laughing. They’re looking for a reason to say, ‘You know what?

Sykes argued that many people like to play the police or moral police, but often fail to understand where the reporter is coming from, deliberately portraying them in the worst possible way.

“A lot of people want to be a detective. They want to be a police officer,” Sykes said. “It’s like when you say something, and it might offend you, but you have to look at where that person is coming from. You know? Maybe their life, their perspective is different from what you know – ‘Yes, you’re offended, but you’re not standing in my shoes. You’re not seeing it from my point of view!’ – So, I think that’s where we are now. “

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Charlamagne tha God speaks during “Adapting to Trends: The Future of Podcasting” during the 2025 Black Effect Podcast Festival at Pullman Yards on April 26, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Derek White/Getty Images for iHeartMedia and The Black Effect Podcast Network)

One host asked if he recognized a fine line in punching and knocking each other down, which is actually a dynamic where people perceive whether it is socially acceptable to mock a person or group by judging whether they are superior or inferior.

“I always try to hit because I feel like — but I am,” Sykes said, noting that she herself is a Black woman and gay. However, he said, “If you hit the floor, if it’s funny, I’ll laugh.”

The difference, he said, is whether a joke comes from a place of love/familiarity or genuine malice towards a person or group, citing Chris Rock’s famous joke about certain men in the Black community.

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Comedian/actor Chris Rock performs his comedy routine during a stop on his tour at Total Blackout Park Theater at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino on June 10, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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