Humor & Life Quote by Wanda Sykes

The double “awful” lands like a punchline and a confession at once: Wanda Sykes isn’t really talking about James Brown so much as the early, shaky version of herself she’s willing to roast in public. Comedians build authority by proving they can survive embarrassment, and here she’s narrating her own origin story with the exact weapon she later perfected: ruthless honesty, aimed inward first.

The “In ’87” timestamp does quiet work. It places the moment in a pre-Internet comedy ecosystem where impressions weren’t instantly fact-checked, clipped, and litigated by fandom. You could try something messy, bomb, tweak it, and keep moving. By naming the year, Sykes signals a grind-era intimacy: this was before brand management, before her public persona congealed, back when you learned onstage by failing loudly.

Choosing James Brown adds another layer. Brown is a high-wire act to imitate: the voice, the footwork, the sweat-soaked charisma, the cultural weight. For a comedian, attempting him is partly homage, partly audition for fearlessness, and partly a setup for self-deprecation because the gap between legend and impression is inherently funny. Sykes lets that gap do the work.

Underneath, there’s a subtle ethics: she’s acknowledging the awkwardness of trying on Black cultural iconography for laughs, even within the culture, and she’s preempting any critique by owning the cringe. The line is a reminder that comedy’s polish comes from a long private archive of public misfires.