Wanda Sykes says Bill Maher confronted her after she dissed him on the Golden Globes stage in January.
Presenting the award for best performance in stand-up comedy, Sykes joked, “There’s some people pissed 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.”
Sykes began roasting the nominees, starting with Bill Maher. “Bill Maher, you give us so much,” she said, “but I would love a little less.” The camera caught Maher staring at the stage with a slight smile, seemingly unsure how to react. “Just try less,” Sykes continued.
Speaking to Jesse David Fox for Vulture’s “Good One” podcast, Sykes said Maher stopped her after the Golden Globes as the comics were waiting for their respective cars.
“He was like, ‘What was that about?’ And I was like, ‘It’s a joke, Bill.’ He’s like, ‘Well, I mean, it wasn’t even a joke.’ I said, ‘Oh, no, I heard laughter. It was clearly a joke.’”
Sykes imitated Maher as he continued to argue with her about the bit, which prompted Sykes to tell him, “See? You’re doing exactly what we said in the joke. We need less of this. You’re, you’re epitomizing the joke. Less of this.” Sykes chuckled: “He didn’t care for it.”
Maher apparently went on to tell Sykes that he had been “getting a lot of texts” and “it was a stupid joke.”
“When he said ‘stupid,’ I was like, ‘OK, now you’re gonna get it,’” Sykes said on the podcast. “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. That’s the problem. You’re watching Fox News, and I’m over here on MSNBC.’ Then he asked me to be on his podcast. I was like, ‘Absolutely not.’”