Wanda Sykes slams Dave Chappelle for ‘hurtful and damaging’ trans jokes

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Velma” has been renewed for Season 2 at Max. The announcement was made at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival by Suzanna Makkos, the executive vice president of original comedy and adult animation for Max and Adult Swim, during her “Share With” session. “Velma” debuted its first season on what was then HBO Max in January. The adult animated comedy series tells the origin story of Velma Dinkley and the Mystery Inc. gang from “Scooby Doo.” Mindy Kaling voices Velma with the cast also including Glenn Howerton, Sam Richardson, Constance Wu, Jane Lynch, Ming-Na Wen, Wanda Sykes, and more. Charlie Grandy developed the series for television and serves as executive producer and showrunner. Kaling also executive produces along with Howard Klein and Sam Register.

Killer Mike has released a new single titled ‘Scientists & Engineers’ featuring André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane.Released yesterday, June 13, ‘Scientists & Engineers’ is the latest preview from the Run The Jewels rapper’s upcoming solo album ‘Michael’. The dreamy synth-heavy track features hazy vocals from Future, ethereal choral vocals from Eryn Allen Kane and rapid-fire verses from Killer Mike and André 3000.Listen to Killer Mike’s ‘Scientists & Engineers’ below. Other tracks from the album that have been released so far include ‘Don’t Let The Devil’ featuring El-P and thankugoodsir, ‘Talk’n That Shit!’, which features a cameo appearance from Jamie Foxx., ‘RUN’, featuring Dave Chappelle and Young Thug and ‘MOTHERLESS’.Killer Mike has also revealed the guest spots and contributors’ list for ‘Michael’.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Season 48 of “Saturday Night Live” may have been cut short due to the writers’ strike, depriving us of the final three hosts, Pete Davidson, Kieran Culkin and Jennifer Coolidge (crossing our fingers for the first three slots of Season 49?), but there will lots for members of the Television Academy to choose from. Pedro Pascal, Quinta Brunson, Austin Butler and Jenna Ortega are among the hosts submitted for Emmy consideration in the guest acting categories. Not every person lucky enough to take the stage of Studio 8H in New York City submits for Primetime recognition. For example, Season 47 hosts Oscar Isaac, Kim Kardashian and Billie Eilish were not among the proposed names.

Velma will be back. Max has renewed Mindy Kaling’s adult animated series for a second season. Suzanna Makkos, EVP, Original Comedy and Adult Animation, Max and Adult Swim, revealed the renewal during a panel at Annecy International Animated Film Festival Thursday, where she also talked about upcoming projects and previewed Max’s upcoming adult animation slate.

Despite widespread anti-transgender violence in 2022, the news media spent less than an hour covering it.The only exception was the Club Q massacre, which gained news primarily because it was a mass shooting that claimed five lives, rather than Club Q’s connection to the LGBTQ community.According to a new analysis by Media Matters for America, a liberal-leaning media watchdog group, major cable and broadcast networks spent just over 6 hours reporting on anti-transgender violence, which claimed 38 lives in the United States in 2022.However, the overwhelming majority of that coverage — 91%,  or 5 hours and 12 minutes — was focused on the Club Q massacre, in which two of the victims were transgender.Additionally, due to the timing of the attack, which happened near the end of the calendar year, in November 2022, for more than 10 months, coverage of anti-transgender violence on major TV networks was, at best, scant, if not absent altogether.The remaining 48 minutes of coverage aired on one network, MSNBC, and were split into eight segments, despite the higher number of victims — 36 in total.Additionally, unlike the two Club Q transgender victims, who were white, the majority of transgender or gender-nonconforming individuals were Black or Latinx women, highlighting the disparities that can exist in media coverage of violence based on the identities of victims. “Media networks have a track record of fixating on individual tragedies that provide opportunities for sensationalized coverage rather than drawing earnest attention to the stark reality of violence against marginalized people in America,” Media Matters wrote in its report. “This can give the impression that violence against trans people is isolated rather than an

William Earl Comedian Amy Schumer sets her sights on Alec Baldwin and the tragic “Rust” shooting in her new Netflix comedy special, “Emergency Contact.” The set, which was taped during her Dec. 10 shows at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, debuted on the platform on June 13. Late in the show, Schumer discusses Baldwin’s wife Hilaria, an yoga influencer who has implied Spanish heritage even though she was born in Boston to a family that liked to vacation in Spain. “Hilaria from España is actually Hillary from Boston,” Schumer said. “This woman is in no way Spanish — her parents are not from Spain, no one in her life is from Spain.”

Los Angeles Times.“I’m going to f–king gay bash you, fa—t,” the man yelled, forcing the actor to bolt toward the store in fear.Employees at the Pink Dot escorted a terrified Page into the shop, but the man allegedly followed him and stood at the store’s doorway.“This is why I need a gun,” the maniac reportedly yelled at Page through the glass door.Page — whose deadname was Ellen Page — revealed he was transgender in 2020. Now, he says he no longer feels safe in Los Angeles.“Now when I’m in Los Angeles, I don’t feel comfortable like I used to going for walks,” The Canadian-born entertainer said.The ordeal may have shaken the actor, but he acknowledged that he has the privilege to stay in safer hotels and hire security if needed, unlike most people living in LA.“Doesn’t mean it’s not traumatic, but I have resources that, in every instance that is difficult, protect and can shield me from these things,” Page told the outlet.The “Juno” star’s recounting of the alleged verbal assault and threats comes in the wake of another story she recently shared in his upcoming memoir “Pageboy,” about when a “famous a–hole” told him being gay “doesn’t exist.”Page, who came out as gay in February 2014, claims that an unnamed A-list actor told him he was going to “f—k you to make you realize you aren’t gay,’” at a birthday party in Los Angeles shortly after coming out.He “purposely” did not name the accused high-profile celebrity but said they would “hear about this and know it’s him.”The actor added that another celebrity, whom he describes only as an “acquaintance,” insisted, “‘You aren’t gay.

The second weekend of June is when the tentpole events of Capital Pride annually occur. It’s also when the Nation’s Capital, a progressive, inclusive, and diverse city year-round, reaches Pride fever pitch.

In his upcoming memoir Pageboy, Elliot Page reveals that a homophobic actor once confronted him at a party in Los Angeles back in 2014, telling him: “You aren’t gay. That doesn’t exist.

The second weekend of June is when the tentpole events of Capital Pride annually occur. It’s also when the Nation’s Capital, a progressive, inclusive, and diverse city year-round, reaches Pride fever pitch.

Cultural Currents Institute, Google searches for questions such as “Am I gay?” “Am I lesbian?” “Am I trans?” and “how to come out,” as well as searches for “nonbinary” have jumped by 1,300 percent since 2004.The analysis suggests that more politically conservative states are the “most closeted,” with Utah, Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia, and New Hampshire leading the list of top states where Google users have searched “Am I gay?” For “Am I lesbian?” the top states were: Utah, Connecticut, Kentucky, Washington, and Colorado.For “Am I trans?” the top states were: Utah, Kentucky, Colorado, Michigan, and Washington.For the term “how to come out,” the states with the most searches were: Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky.“The regional differences highlighted below are significant, offering a geographical landscape of self-questioning and discovery across America,” Cultural Currents’ analysis reads.“Utah, a state with traditionally conservative social values, surprisingly tops three out of five search term categories.

Philly’s pre-eminent hip-hop and R&B festival is fast approaching.On Saturday, June 3 and Sunday, June 4, the annual Roots Picnic drops into Philadelphia’s TD Pavilion at the Mann for two days of music, podcasting, food, drink and more.And you haven’t picked up last-minute tickets yet, you may want to re-evaluate because legends like Usher, Lauryn Hill, Lil Uzi Vert, Busta Rhymes and Eve will be taking the stage at the two-day extravaganza.Ari Lennox, Black Thought, City Girls, GloRilla and Lucky Daye are also set to perform.Plus, legends Roy Ayers and The Isley Brothers will be there too.You won’t want to forget festival curators and headliners The Roots either.Or Dave Chappelle kicking off the festivities at Wells Fargo Center on Friday, June 2.Seriously, there’s a lot of talent dropping into the City of Brotherly Love.We didn’t even mention Talib Kweli and Charlemagne tha God’s podcasts.Yes, there’s still so much more.So, how much does it cost to get in on the action?Well, at the time of publication, we found two-day general admission passes going for as low as $197 before fees on Vivid Seats.Single-day passes start at $103 before fees.$152 before fees is the lowest price to see Dave Chappelle live.If you still need more information, that’s no problem.We’ve got everything you need to know and more about the Roots Picnic Festival below.All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.A complete calendar including all Roots Picnic Festival dates, start times and links to the cheapest tickets available can be found here.(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time.

The Broadway-bound revival of The Wiz, which will launch a national tour in Baltimore this fall, has cast Kyle Ramar Freeman (A Strange Loop) as the Lion, Phillip Johnson Richardson (Apple+’s Sharper) as the Tinman, and former The Voice contestant Avery Wilson as the Scarecrow.

Wanda Sykes goes way back with fellow comic Dave Chappelle, but she’s making it clear that she does not support his anti-trans rhetoric.

British comedy legend John Cleese has lashed out at the press in recent days for allegedly reporting that he will be removing a politically incorrect scene from future adaptations of his movie “Life of Brian” to avoiding offending the trans community.In recent statements on Twitter, Cleese claimed that a reporter had “misreported me” when claiming the entertainer was planning to cut the famous “Loretta” scene for an upcoming stage adaptation of the classic religious satire film.He corrected the reports, claiming that he was merely illustrating what others had advised him to do with the potentially controversial scene. He declared he has “no intention” of removing it.The scene in question features a male character from the 1979 British comedy telling his associates that he wants to be woman named “Loretta” and demands the right to bear a child.

Comedy’s king of controversy is going on a short tour.From May 31 through June 2, Dave Chappelle is set to perform at three huge venues in West Virginia and Pennsylvania.First, the “Half Baked” star will drop into Charleston, WV’s Charleston Municipal Auditorium on Wednesday, May 31.After that, he’s set to headline at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena on Thursday, June 1. Finally, he wrap up the brief run at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center with Philly natives The Roots joining him on Friday, June 2.What can we expect from these gigs?At a Chappelle show, it’s anyone’s guess.

WSVN. The report says the victim told him to stop, but he continued and turned her over, pulling down her pants and penetrating her. Eventually he stopped, and she was able to pull up her pants and leave the bathroom.According to the police report, the woman and her friends later confronted Cavani, who reportedly responded, “I’m sorry, I thought it was cool,” to which the victim reportedly replied, “I kept on telling you no.”The trans woman went to Miami police headquarters to file a police report.Police later interviewed Cavani, who told officers he believed the encounter had been consensual, and sought to explain what had happened in the stall, claiming he would never force himself on anyone, according to Miami ABC affiliate WPLG.According to the police report, Cavani said the pair went by the bathrooms to a corner to make out, at which point he began touching her through her clothing.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) will reportedly announce plans to run for president in 2024 during a live conversation with Elon Musk Wednesday evening on Twitter Spaces.

As the WGA strike entered its fourth week, Tony Kushner swore, Steve Earle sang, Wanda Sykes led union chants and Busy Philipps told CEO jokes for more than 1,000 demonstrators and hundreds of onlookers who filled the street in front of NBCUniversal headquarters Tuesday in Midtown Manhattan. 

Wanda Sykes began working on “I’m an Entertainer,” her latest Netflix stand-up special, in 2019, hardly any of the material she wrote prior to March 2020 made it into the show. Instead, it was the radioactive events of the pandemic era — from COVID vaccinations to the Jan. 6 insurrection, the battle over trans rights to the murders of Black Americans like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Elijah McClain — that Sykes was drawn to. Those deaths and the racial reckoning that followed were not obvious fodder for making people laugh. “All that stuff just kept piling on,” Sykes says, her voice softer and more tentative than the tart Southern twang she deploys on stage. “I knew I wanted to talk about it, but I just didn’t know how to make it funny. We were all just so angry.”