Comedian and talk-show host Ziwe has put fellow comedian Wanda Sykes on the spot in a playful conversation about race, friendship and her predominantly white family.
The exchange came during Ziwe’s upcoming YouTube interview with Sykes, which was previewed at the Toronto International Film Festival ahead of the new season of Ziwe’s digital talk show. The interview includes a segment in which Ziwe asks Sykes to name at least five of her Black friends.
Sykes is openly gay and married to French-born Alex Niedbalski. The couple have twins, Olivia and Lucas, born in 2009.
The conversation reportedly took a humorous turn as Ziwe questioned Sykes about her social circle and her experience being surrounded by white people at home.
In the viral exchange circulating online, Ziwe is heard jokingly challenging Sykes after she struggled to immediately provide the names expected of her, eventually teasing her about naming people seemingly at random.
“I take care of white people, that’s what I do… you heard that, Miss Harriet Tubman?” Ziwe joked.
The moment fits the comedian’s well-known interview style, which uses deliberately uncomfortable questions about race and identity as a form of satire. Ziwe has previously become known for asking guests questions such as how many Black friends they have and then pushing them to explain their answers.
The latest interview is part of Ziwe’s return to a digital format after her Showtime series was cancelled in 2023. She recently premiered episodes featuring Sykes and political commentator Hasan Piker at TIFF, with the new season set to debut on YouTube.
The Sykes interview has already generated attention because of Ziwe’s trademark approach of turning sensitive conversations about race into deliberately awkward comedy.
For Sykes, the exchange appears to have been part of the show’s satirical format rather than a conventional interview, with Ziwe once again using humour to expose the uncomfortable ways people talk about race, friendship and identit
