Wanda Sykes Roasts Everyone In Golden Globes Speech

Wanda Sykes made sure before she left the Golden Globe stage that she’d roasted everyone from the eventual award winner Ricky Gervais to everyone nominated in the category, including Kevin Hart, Sarah Silverman, and Bill Maher. 

During the presentation for Best Performance in Stand‑Up Comedy on Television, Sykes started off by noting that “There’s some people p—ed off that a queer Black woman is up here doing the job of two mediocre white guys.”  

Sykes then set her sights on comedian Bill Maher.

“Bill Maher—you give us so much,” she said, on the heels of HBO’s two-season renewal of Maher’s both-sides show. “But I would love a little less,” Sykes said. The camera panned to show an unamused Maher. “Just try less.”

Sykes then noted that Kevin Hart was a “true American” for wanting to win the category “the most,” despite being its “richest” nominee, the Daily Beast reports.

Sykes then warned that Brett Goldstein had the “charm: and the “great supervillain voice,” and added that he would’ve made  “a great Menendez brother.”

Finally, Sykes to aim at Gervais, a noted atheist, who has been accused of being transphobic after he made several jokes about trans people. 

“Ricky, I love you… for not being here,” Sykes said. “No, I love you, Ricky, because if you win, I get to accept the award on your behalf—and you’re going to thank God, and the trans community,” Sykes said to audience applause.

The Daily Beast notes that Gervais has been one of the most frequently tapped comedians to host the Globes including 2010 to 2012, 2016, and 2020. In 2020, Gervais told the Daily Beast that his joke about Caitlyn Jenner wasn’t transphobic but rather, “Most offense comes from people who mistake the subject of a joke with the actual target. And they’re not necessarily the same.”

“I’ve had it throughout my career. So there, you know, ‘He’s making fun of a trans person, therefore he’s transphobic,’ which is very odd,” he added. “That would suggest that you can never make fun of a trans person for any reason. Even if it had nothing to do with their trans-ness.”

Sykes announced that Gervais had won the award and accepted the award on Gervais’ behalf, adding: “He would like to thank God, and the trans community.”

Social media was loving the light roasting. See the reactions below.