Wanda Sykes has revealed that Bill Maher wasn’t too happy with her after she roasted him at the Golden Globe Awards this year.
Sykes, 62, appeared at the January ceremony to present the award for Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television, which Ricky Gervais went on to win.
While on stage, Sykes took aim at Maher, among others, saying: “There’s some people p****ed off that a queer Black woman is up here doing the job of two mediocre white guys. But first, I want to give them some love.
“Bill Maher, you give us so much, but I would love a little less. Just try less,” she said. The camera then panned to an unamused Maher, who tilted his head slightly after Sykes’s joke.
During a recent episode of Vulture’s Good One podcast, Sykes said Maher confronted her in the parking lot after the ceremony.
“We were waiting for our cars. And he was like, ‘What was that about?’ I was like, ‘It’s a joke, Bill.’ He was like, ‘Well, I mean, it wasn’t even a joke.’ I said, ‘Oh, no, I heard laughter. It was clearly a joke,’” Sykes said.
She continued, impersonating Maher: “He’s like, ‘But I don’t… I don’t... but, I mean, I don’t, but still… I mean, it’s not even a joke. It was just like…’ I said, ‘See? You’re doing exactly what we said in the joke! We need less of this! You epitomize the joke. Less of this!’”
“He didn’t care for it,” Sykes said. She explained that Maher said he was being critiqued by his fans and “getting a lot of texts and people are saying, ‘What was that?’ and ‘It was a stupid joke.’
“And when he said ‘stupid,’ I said, ‘Okay, now you’re gonna get it,’” Sykes continued. “I was like, ‘Well, I got a lot of texts telling me how great it was and how they don’t like you, and it was really funny. I guess, you know, that’s the problem. You’re watching Fox News, and I’m over here on MSNBC. See?’ And then he asked me to be on his podcast. I was like, ‘Absolutely not!’”
Maher wasn’t the only one Sykes jabbed at while she had the microphone.
Before announcing Gervais as the category winner, Sykes addressed the British comic, thanking him for “not being here.”
“No, I love you, Ricky,” she added, quipping, “but because if you win, I get to accept the award on your behalf, and you’re going to thank God and the trans community.”
