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CNN Larry King Live

Interview With Wanda Sykes

Aired August 25, 2010 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight Wanda Sykes, one funny woman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANDA SYKES, COMEDIAN: If somebody broke into my house and vacuumed, I might be a little confused, but I ain't calling the cops.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Opinionated, outspoken, sometimes outrageous. She's talking politics, Palin, celebrity scandals. And as a married lesbian with kids, got a lot to say about Prop 8. Wanda Sykes will take your questions too next on "LARRY KING LIVE."

Good evening. What a great pleasure to welcome Wanda Sykes to "LARRY KING LIVE." The Emmy winning comic actress, writer. By the way, she'll be performing at the Palarmar Starlight in Pala (ph), California this Friday and at the Imperial Palace and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, September 10th. Her HBO special "I'm Going to Be Me" is vying for outstanding variety music or comedy special that the weekend's Emmy awards show. Here's a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: We got one cool black president, don't we? Damn, he's cool. I don't know how the man keeps his cool. All this (EXPLETIVE) that gets thrown at him. People just (EXPLETIVE) with him all the time. The birthers calling him a racist, comparing him to Hitler. What the hell? How does he stay so cool? Is he still smoking weed? Dang, Nazi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Wanda Sykes, thank you for coming.

SYKES: Thank you. Thank you for having me here.

KING: Were you a funny kid?

SYKES: Yes, I was a funny kid, and -- but my timing was off. Yeah, because instead of getting the laughs, I would get popped in the lips, you know.

KING: Where did you grow up?

SYKES: Virginia, Portsmouth, Virginia.

KING: Did you want to be a comedian?

SYKES: No. I didn't know any comedians. You know--

KING: So, how did this all happen?

SYKES: I have no idea.

KING: You woke up on stage? What?

SYKES: You know, I went through the steps that, you know, you're supposed to go through. I went to school. Went to college. And at that time we were living in the Maryland, D.C. area. So, you know, what do you do, you get a job for the government. So I was working for the government. And I was just bored silly. And I said, this cannot be my life. You know? And it was just the same thing. I would, you know, go to work and come home, drink some beer, wash my car. I had to clean this car on the block because it was like every day -- out of boredom.

KING: So how do you break into comedy from that?

SYKES: One day, I was, like, going through my high school yearbook. I was just looking at what, you know, people had written in my book. And it was, you're so funny. You should be on stage. And you know, I was always a fan of comedy. But I said, you know what, maybe I should. So I just -- I wrote some jokes and went on stage. And it all just kind of made sense.

KING: The rest, as they say, is history.

SYKES: Yeah, yeah.

KING: How do you feel about this nomination? Emmy nominated.

SYKES: I'm very excited about it, very honored. You know, last week, we had the Creative Arts Awards. And I lost that one. And, you know, you get all dressed up and you go. And, you know, people say, oh, I'm just so honored to be nominated, but really, you want to win. You know, it feel goods to win. You want to walk around with your big trophy--

KING: Damn right.

SYKES: --and you want to shove it in people's faces. And you know, you want to get up and thank people. I mean, you want to do all that.

So when -- you know, when they didn't call my name, it would have been better for me if they would have said, and the winner is, Wanda Sykes, not you. You know, I would have felt better. I would have said, oh, okay Because just punching--

KING: Who one?

SYKES: --if you're going to kick me in the teeth, kick me in the teeth.

KING: Who won?

SYKES: The Kennedy Center Honors.

KING: You're kidding?

SYKES: Yeah, yeah.

KING: I mean, it's night and day.

SYKES: Thank you, thank you, Larry. Why am I up against Bruce Springsteen's and Melissa Etheridge's entire body of work? My one hour?

KING: Well, Jimmy Fallon is going to be here tomorrow night. Maybe we'll talk to him into -- is there still time to influence -

SYKES: Yes. Yeah, yeah, right.

KING: I'll do what I can.

SYKES: I'm sure PriceWaterhouse will love that. Yeah.

KING: Let's get into politics. Were you always political?

SYKES: I think growing up in, like, the Washington, D.C./Maryland area. Because we moved there, my father was in the military. I think, you know, I was just so exposed to it that, you know, it's just what's around. So I was involved and interested. And then as I got older, I just found it all fascinating and such a -- full of hypocrisy. And that's the best comedy to me is when you're pointing fingers at, you know, at society and at our system so--

KING: Speaking of hypocrisy--

SYKES: Uh-huh.

KING: Right? And let's go right to it. Ken Mehlman, the former chairman of the Republican party?

SYKES: He's family. I didn't know. Look at that.

KING: Yes, he's one of you.

SYKES: He's one of me.

KING: He came out of the closet. He came out against Prop 8. What do you make of that? You mention hypocrisy.

SYKES: Right. And that's the whole thing with politics. Here's this guy. Now, he said it's taken him, like, 43 years to, you know, be comfortable with, you know, himself, his own self-

KING: Self, yes.

SYKES: --which I understand. You know, it took me a while to publicly come out. But the people back then, when he was in the Bush administration, come on, they knew. They knew he was gay, and he had to sit there and listen to--

KING: Anti-gay--

SYKES: --all this anti-gay stuff. And I also believe that people in the room, they weren't really anti-gay, they were pro votes, you know? So it's like, they can't go -- they have to say what the voters out there will accept to get the votes. Yeah, think what they want. So you have to say that.

KING: Well, what do you think goes through Kenny Mehlman though? What do you think just go through him?

SYKES: He probably took so many, you know, like those showers that, like, rape victims take, you know, at the end of the day in the shower, just scrubbing himself. He probably had a lot of those type of showers.

KING: How did you come out?

SYKES: How did I come out? I did it in Vegas. Las Vegas. Yeah. Las Vegas.

KING: As an adult?

SYKES: I mean, publicly.

KING: You were on stage?

SYKES: It was after one of the -- it was a Prop 8 rally. It was the national day after the -- after Prop 8 passed. And I was in Vegas. I was performing at Planet Hollywood. And I said, okay, where's the rally in Vegas? We're going to go. And so, it's a group of us. And, you know, I had no intentions on speaking at the rally. I had, you know, I was just there in support. And so at the end of the -- end of the speeches, they said, we understand that there's, you know, someone out there in the audience. And they--

KING: Come on down?

SYKES: --they will -- yeah, come on down. And to say a few things, we appreciate you hear supporting us. So when I got up there, I'm like, I'm not just supporting, you know, you. I'm supporting me. So it just, you know. But you know, I guess that phrase whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, not true, Larry, not true, Larry King.

KING: When did you know, Wanda, that you were a lesbian?

SYKES: When did I know? Let me see. When did "Coffy" come out? Pam Greer. "Coffy." No.

KING: No, like, I mean, is there a period, you're in high school and you're --

SYKES: It was -- you know, it was very early on. I remember I was in the -- I mean, maybe second or third grade. And--

KING: Really?

SYKES: --it was these two sisters. And they both liked my brother. I have an older brother. They both liked him. And my brother was off with one of the sisters. And, you know, walking around, whatever. It's like fourth of July, fireworks or something. So I was stuck with the other sister. And, you know, 'cause she was walking around with me, trying to find my brother and her sister.

KING: Wait, you're in third grade?

SYKES: I'm like in third grade, right. And she's holding my hand. We're walking. I'm look up at her. And I told her, I said, you know, I wish I were a boy because then you could be my girlfriend. And the look she gave me, like, huh-uh, don't ever--

KING: Don't go there.

SYKES: Don't ever say that again. Because I think she saw that it wasn't, like, you know--

KING: Right.

SYKES: -- some, like, childhood -- you know, just like a little girl saying something. I think she saw I was putting the moves on her. And it scared her. She couldn't handle it.

KING: Did it ever scare you?

SYKES: Did it ever scare me?

KING: Yes, approaching the world where you're going to be different.

SYKES: Oh, of course, I have parents who are still alive. So yeah, I mean, you know, and that's why you suppress all that, you bury it, and to try to fit in. I'm 46. I mean, you know. So back then, you know, you know, religion, everything else--

KING: I know.

SYKES: You know, we didn't -- we weren't exposed to gay people.

KING: And your father's in the service.

SYKES: My father's in the service. Right, retired colonel. So--

KING: How did you tell them? SYKES: A long distance phone call.

KING: Long distance?

SYKES: Yeah, we're talking, like, coast to coast.

KING: How did they handle it?

SYKES: You always want to give your family like a six-hour plane ride before they can get to you.

KING: Did they handle it all right?

SYKES: We're working on it.

KING: Still?

SYKES: They love me. Yes, yes. I mean, they love me. I know without a doubt, my family, they love me. And you know, we're -- you know, we're working on it. Keep praying for us.

KING: More with Wanda Sykes. We'll talk about Prop 8. More on that subject and other things, your calls and Twitter. You Twitter?

SYKES: I dabble.

KING: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: Got to get used to having a black First Lady. Got to get used to that, right? That's why we had all those -- those articles, you know, when he first got in office, like, who is the real Michelle Obama? When will we see the real Michelle Obama? You know what they're saying? When are we going to see this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You do -- write all your own stuff, right?

SYKES: Yes, yes.

KING: What do you think of the president, the job he's doing? His approval rating is down. What do you think?

SYKES: I think it's time for the First Lady to start doing some of this, really. It's about time. I mean, maybe she needs to get out of her herb garden a little bit, you know, and start smashing some heads, you know?

I think he's doing a really good job. I mean, you look at it like this. Look at where we were, you know, what -- the mess that this country was left in when Bush left. So he comes in and it's like basically people expecting him, you know, to fix everything. That's like handing him a spoon and telling him to go fill in the Grand Canyon, you know? We were deep, deep, deep in debt. Our economy's a mess. And look at what he's done. Our troops are -- the combat troops are coming out of Iraq. We have -- he passed the health care bill. He's going to end don't ask don't tell.

KING: Yeah, when is he going to do that?

SYKES: Well, he's letting the military, which I think is a good idea, work it out. He's coming up with the plan. I mean, that's what I like about him. He's not just going to say, I want this ended, and they just -- and tomorrow they wake up and they have to figure out how to do it, you know, or it's done. At least, he's not ramming it down, you know, down your throats, which I guess you really shouldn't use ramming it down your throat when we're talking about don't ask don't tell. But--

KING: What does your father think about don't ask don't tell?

SYKES: What does my father think? My father -- and I hope I'm not stepping out of line here, but I remember having a discussion with him. And he said there's been gays in the military for years. There was gays in the military when he was there. And you know, when you're in the trenches whatever with the guy next to you or woman next to you, whatever--

KING: You ain't thinking about kissing them?

SYKES: You ain't thinking about that. You know, you're thinking about how to get home.

KING: All right. What do you make of the fact that apparently 24 percent of Americans believe that Obama is a Muslim?

SYKES: Okay. People are just dumb basically. And they believe anything and everything. That someone sits on the television or on their radio and you say it, they think it is true. They think it is fact. They take it as fact. When you -- all this stuff on the Internet, it's just crazy what people believe. You know? It's out of control.

KING: First president to issue a press release saying he's a Christian.

SYKES: Why? You know, it's nuts that it had to go that far. It really is insane. There's people just sitting in their little basements with their little crazy hats with the little propellers on there just typing nonsense. And people believe it. They just get a little, you know, a little piece of information. And they run with that.

I really wish we could get back to some really good journalists, you know, and just real facts. Remember when you read the paper and if they made a mistake, they would come back and print a little retraction and say oh, we messed up? There's none of that. There's none of that now. You don't have any, you know, any checks or--

KING: Like weatherman, they never say when they were wrong.

SYKES: Never, yeah.

KING: You notice that? Yes.

SYKES: Exactly.

KING: The weatherman ever come on television and say I was wrong yesterday about the rain. They never do that.

Our guest is Wanda Sykes. She's terrific. She's nominated for an Emmy. The Emmys are on this Sunday night. And Jimmy Fallon will be here tomorrow. And he's going to host it. She's talked about President Obama. What does she think about former Governor Sarah Palin? More with Wanda Sykes next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: So you automatically think the black man is the valet?

LARRY: No, I don't automatically.

SYKES: Yes, you did. I saw it.

LARRY: You're standing by the valet.

SYKES: Get my car, boy. I saw it, Larry.

LARRY: Yeah, he had on a white shirt and a vest. He's standing by the valet. It's an honest mistake.

SYKES: Oh, yes, that's honest, anytime I see a black man in a tie and a suit, I think, hey, you must park cars for a living.

LARRY: I feel like it was a honest mistake, Wanda.

SYKES: No, no. If it was a white man standing here--

LARRY: I would have given him the -- I would too.

SYKES: No, you would have--

LARRY: I would too have.

SYKES: No, you would have--

LARRY: Too.

SYKES: You would have asked him -- not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: She'll be back on this next season of "Curb your Enthusiasm" filmed mostly in New York. And that's one of the great scenes in that great show's history. They let you ad-lib, right?

SYKES: Oh, it's all ad-libbed. Yes.

KING: They just give you an outline?

SYKES: You know--

KING: Like you would come up and complain about what he was doing, giving his parking ticket to a guy waiting for his car--

SYKES: Right.

KING: --because he was black?

SYKES: Exactly. It's -- that's basically what he gives you. It's like, okay, you walk out the restaurant, you see me, I'm handing my valet ticket to a black guy, but he's not the valley. Okay, I got it. And then we just go with it.

KING: He's brilliant.

SYKES: He's brilliant. He is. He's brilliant, but it's like the most stressful gig that I do.

KING: Why?

SYKES: Because you don't know. You don't have any lines, you know. And when I first got the call, I'm like, oh, good, I'm going to work with Larry David. Oh, he's a genius, great writer. And I get to have all these funny Larry David words and maybe there will be some "Seinfeld-isms." You know, some -- and you get there and it's like, where's my script? Oh, no, just make it up. What kind of lazy piece of crap is this? I want a damn script. No, but it's stressful because like you said, his level of where he works, you just--

KING: Well, it doesn't come out that way. And he's brilliant.

SYKES: Thank you.

KING: All right, what's your take on Sarah Palin? Should we take her seriously?

SYKES: Well, you have to take her seriously because there are people out there who listen to her. I think she is -- she's smart in the way that she's an opportunist, but she's not smart enough to pull it off. Because if -- all you got to do, just give her enough rope and she's going to say something stupid. You know, she's making up words. You know, just give her enough room and she's going to blow it. That's all you need. If she operates in just a little small stage and just knows when -- just like to shut up. Like if somebody just put an ear piece in her ear and just said, period, and just tell her, you know, stop, she will go far. But she doesn't know how to stop. So--

KING: There's a likability quality too, though, isn't there? I mean, she's very attractive? She's--

SYKES: Well, she says the things that are, you know, that the people in that little area want to hear. I mean, there's a group who feel very connected to her. And she--

KING: They sure do.

SYKES: Yeah, right. And you have to give her credit for that. But when you listen to it, you know, really, a lot of it doesn't make any sense. I mean--

KING: What do you make of Levi Johnston, Sarah Palin's former future son-in-law who has gone back, then not back? He's running for mayor?

SYKES: Okay, so, so let me get this right, because he was, let's say, in the family, so does that make him, what, somehow just by that connection, now he's qualified to run a city? I mean, I don't understand. Just because, you know, okay, I'm around them, so all of her brilliance is going to rub off on him. What? He's a baby daddy.

KING: A baby daddy?

SYKES: He's a baby daddy. They weren't married. You know, I don't -- it's the most craziest thing I've ever heard. Baby daddy. Man baby daddy.

KING: What do you make of Dr. Laura?

SYKES: Dr. Laura?

KING: She quit her radio show right where you're sitting. That's where she announced she was quitting.

SYKES: That's -- this is where she announced?

KING: Right where you're sitting.

SYKES: Well, here's the shocking thing about Dr. Laura, Larry. I did not know that black people actually listened to Dr. Laura.

KING: Yes, it was a black lady caller.

SYKES: Yes, a black lady called in. I didn't know that black people ever call heard show or even listened to her show.

KING: Why not? Why?

SYKES: Black people don't listen to Dr. Laura. That's a white people thing. That's a white people thing.

KING: You mean, black people don't need psychological help or they don't have marital problems?

SYKES: Yeah, but we're not going to call Dr. Laura. We're not calling -- Dr. Laura's not even a psychologist. She's not a psychiatrist.

KING: I think she--

SYKES: No, she's a physiologist. Her background is--

KING: Oh.

SYKES: --so you make better time getting therapy from your masseuse. I mean, really. Dr. Laura? I mean, and I think Dr. Laura was shocked. And she was really, like really ticked off, that this black woman called into her show. I think that's why she went off. She was like, wait a minute, you mean to tell me all these years I've been giving free advice to a bunch of -- you know. So she just went off. These -- calling my show. I think that's why she--

KING: Well, she says that black comedians use the "N" word.

SYKES: What does that have to do with anything? This woman is calling for advice on her, you know, on her marriage. She's not calling on notes for an HBO special. Why -- it didn't make any sense at all.

I mean, I think Dr. Laura was -- she's probably been saying the "N" word for years, but it's the first time a black person was actually listening to her show. I mean, really, I've been black, Larry, for 46 years. And my entire 46 years, I've never heard one of my black friends start a conversation with, you know, I was listening to Dr. Laura the other day.

KING: Let me get a break. We'll be right back with--

SYKES: White people stuff, Larry.

KING: --Wanda Sykes, don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Wanda just told us that she was beaten for an Emmy by the Kennedy Center Honors. One of the other programs up for an honor was "Hope for Haiti." What if you had beaten "Hope for Haiti."

SYKES: Well, exactly. What was I supposed to do? Take that, Haiti. There's no hope for you tonight, Haiti. I got your hope, Haiti. Look at this.

KING: Let's take a call for Wanda Sykes. Port Saint Lucie, Florida, hello. CALLER: Hi, Wanda. Not only are you the best comedian, you're the best comedian out there and you have the best laugh, but my question stems from this.

SYKES: Thank you.

CALLER: When President Obama was elected, I was so proud that this country was progressive enough to elect a non-white elderly man. And now, during this situation where he's being attacked by -- from all end, the Tea Party, these non-issues about the birth certificates, the Muslim issue, how do we cope with that? How do we fight back and get the facts out there?

SYKES: You know, thank you. And we really need to do something, because I don't know if you've noticed, but he's, like, getting gray and everything and wrinkly. He's turning into an old white man. We're like watching this happen, gray hair, the wrinkles.

KING: It will age anybody.

SYKES: It definitely -- yeah, the stress. I think the same energy that we had when the election was happening and we were supporting him.

KING: The Inaugural.

SYKES: Inaugural, yes. We have to get back to that. Right now, we're kind of like just sitting back, said, OK, we got you in office now, you do your thing.

KING: We got another clip from Wanda's Emmy-nominated HBO special, "I'm Going To Be Me." Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: It's harder. It's harder being gay than it is being black. It is. There's some things that I have -- there's some things that I had to do as gay that I didn't have to do as black. I didn't have to come out black. I didn't have to sit my parents down and tell them about my blackness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You are legally married, right?

SYKES: Yes, I am legally married.

KING: How did you meet -- I don't know how to say this -- your bride? Or your husband?

SYKES: My lucky lady. No, my wife. Yeah, my bride, my wife.

KING: She's the wife.

SYKES: We both are wives. Or -- yeah.

KING: I guess you are.

SYKES: Yeah. We don't do the role playing thing.

KING: How did you meet her?

SYKES: Not my thing. You wear the pants tonight, no.

KING: How did you meet her? Beautiful girl.

SYKES: Yes, she is. She's a looker. Come on, what do you expect? You think I was going to be with an ugly woman? Look at this, Larry. Look at this.

KING: You carry pretty good, baby.

SYKES: I carry it. That's right.

KING: She's French, right?

SYKES: She's French.

KING: Where did you meet her?

SYKES: I met her New York Fire Island. Fire Island, New York City. Outside of New York.

KING: Was it a party or --

SYKES: I saw her on the ferry ride on the way over to the island. And I just -- just something -- I heard something that just said, hey, Wanda, that's what you need. And the rest is history. We are -- our paths crossed eventually on the island. And just been inseparable since.

KING: We got a question for you, Tweeted to Kings Things. Ask Wanda how being a mom has affected you as a stand-up.

SYKES: So much material there. So much material being a mom.

KING: What do you have? A little what?

SYKES: Twins, a little boy and little girl.

KING: How old?

SYKES: They're 15 months, 15 months old.

KING: Who gave birth?

SYKES: She did. Oh, there's nothing coming out of here, Larry. That wouldn't be pretty.

KING: Were you at the birth?

SYKES: Yeah, I was there. I was there.

KING: So what's their names?

SYKES: Olivia Lou and Lucas Claude. What do you expect? Hakeem and Shaquika or something?

KING: Not Jewish either, Olivia and Lucas?

SYKES: No, not Jewish.

KING: So what's it like? What's being a mother like?

SYKES: I love it. I love it. Every day, there's something new. And -- but it's always -- it's something new, but you -- it always goes back to "get that out of your mouth" or "don't put that in your mouth" or "what does he have in his mouth?" Everything just goes --

KING: When you talk about this -- here's a clip from the special. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: And I don't understand how people cheat, you know, especially when they have new kids and they cheat. Where the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) do you get the energy to cheat? (EXPLETIVE DELETED), I told my wife. I said, look, if you ever catch me in another woman's bed, you know I'm just there for a nap.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: That is funny stuff.

SYKES: It's true.

KING: You want to have more kids?

SYKES: You know, I -- we talked about it. And, you know, we'll see. We'll see. I just told her I am not changing a diaper when I get 50. That's it. So if you're going to do it, that's, you know --

KING: How did you pick the donor?

SYKES: How did we pick the donor? We said -- we wanted, like -- it's more about like height and good health basically. And --

KING: Did they tell you the who the donor is?

SYKES: Oh, no, no, no, no. God forbid if it turns out to be Mel Gibson's babies. I'm in trouble, Larry. What am I going to do? That's it. Oh, Mel, I hope you didn't drop a load anywhere. Please tell me you didn't donate something.

KING: We'll be back with Wanda Sykes. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: What do you make of -- Wanda Sykes is our guest. What do you make of the Arizona law about immigration? SYKES: Oh, it's -- I think it's very racist. I do understand where that anger is coming from. We have to fix our borders. Until we get that, you know, straightened out, and secure our borders, then -- but you can't just start, you know, throwing people out and pulling people over just because they look like they're from somewhere else. I mean, what are you going to do? If you see, you know, a white guy dipping, you know, his French fries in mayonnaise, are you going to go, hey, where you from? You from Canada somewhere. Where you from?

No, it's really an attack on Mexicans. And also I think that they're going to change the policy. Because once people realize that they're going to have to start taking care of their own babies and cutting their own grass and stuff, they'll welcome them back. Trust me.

KING: Wanda scored a lot of laughs as the featured entertainer at last year's White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington. She took some flack from these and other jokes about Rush Limbaugh. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: Rush Limbaugh said he hopes this administration fails. So you're saying I hope America fails? He's like, I don't care about people losing their home, jobs, our soldiers in Iraq. He just wants the country to fail.

To me, that's treason. He's not saying anything differently than what Osama bin Laden is saying. You know, you might want to look into this, sir, because I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker, but he was so strung out on Oxycontin he missed his flight. Come on. Too much? OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You think you went a little too far there?

SYKES: Not at all. Not at all.

KING: There's no connect here, right, between here and you, right?

SYKES: Probably not. It might be a little speed bump, you know, just a little one.

KING: Have you heard from Rush Limbaugh fans since then?

SYKES: I did get a nasty note. But, you know, who cares, you know? Who cares? You know, here's the problem: Rush Limbaugh is a filthy rich guy. And he's playing on the emotions of poor people. He's telling poor people that, hey, you know, Obama's going to take this, take that away from you. And really he's just worried about his own pockets. That's it. He's just a big bully. I don't think I went too far at all.

KING: Port Saint Lucie, Florida. Hello. CALLER: Hi, Wanda. Thanks for taking my call, Larry. Wanda, what are your thoughts about Wood's newest comments today in "People Magazine" that she's been through hell?

SYKES: I'm sorry, what was that again?

KING: Oh, Elin Woods, who just divorced Tiger. "People Magazine" comes out tomorrow. She gave them the exclusive interview, and she said she felt she was blind sided.

SYKES: Yes.

KING: What did you make of Tiger?

SYKES: Tiger, man, he never should have gotten married. He knew he liked to play around. He likes the ladies. He should have just -- you know, just stayed -- be a Playboy. It would have been -- he would have been the hugest rock star ever, you know, the golfer, the jet- setter. You know, women all on the planes and everything, you know? But he tried to do the married thing, had the kids.

And as far as Elin, I mean, I'm sure she was blind sided. But I'm sure that big bag of money is going to, you know, just cushion that blow, and she's going to -- she's getting a big bag of money. Good for her.

KING: She still was hurting. She's got two little children.

SYKES: Sometimes I get a headache, I rub a 100 dollar bill up here. And, oh, oh, I call my business manager. I'm like, I don't feel -- my stomach aches. He'll say, OK, we just got a check in. Oh that feels better. How many zeros? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Healed. I feel better.

KING: We have a --

SYKES: Time heals all wounds. Huh-uh. Money, baby. Money. Money will --

KING: We have a Tweet to King's Things. They want to ask Wanda what she thinks of the Jetblue flight attendant who is now an American hero.

SYKES: Oh, now. You want to ask me that?

KING: Twitter, twitter.

SYKES: Good for him.

KING: You like what he did?

SYKES: Yes. He just went off. I've been on flights where I've wanted to jump up and smack people. You know?

KING: You weren't even a flight attendant. SYKES: Not even a flight attendant. I've seen behavior on flights. We just flew back from France with the two kids. And I wanted to jump off the plane, you know? So -- and I'm related to them. You know. So I -- you know, I think everybody's had that moment where you're on your job and you just want to go off and tell people where to go and just lose it.

KING: Going down the chute?

SYKES: Yeah, oh, that's the way to do it. That's the way. At least we know they work, you know?

KING: Good point.

SYKES: Jetblue, you want to make sure. Hey, OK, we have chutes. Jetblue should -- they should use that as a campaign ad. They should do that. Hey, we got chutes.

KING: They could show it. Yeah. You ought to do commercials for them.

SYKES: Right.

KING: We'll be back with more of Wanda Sykes right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

KING: Wanda Sykes, we have this Tweeted to King's Things. Ask Wanda about working for the NSA, the National Security Agency. You?

SYKES: I worked for the NSA, yes. Top secret clearance, all that stuff.

KING: Doing what?

SYKES: I have a degree in marketing, so I was a procurement specialist. Basically, I shopped all day. Just bought things.

KING: What did you procure?

SYKES: Anything from, like, office furniture to, like, you know, intel equipment.

KING: What do they do at the NSA?

SYKES: Basically, they collect intelligence. Yeah. They didn't get much from me. You know.

KING: Adjacent to the CIA?

SYKES: Yes, CIA, they're more with people, you know. Yeah. And NSA is more with --

KING: NSA is equipment. SYKES: Yeah.

KING: And you were a procurement officer. It sounds raunchy. Anyway --

SYKES: Raunchy? I wasn't buying hookers.

KING: I don't know what you procure. In another Tweet.

SYKES: I was a pimp. Yeah, Larry.

KING: What are your hopes for Prop 8 reaching the Supreme Court? And what -- you think eventually we're going to have gay marriage in America?

SYKES: Yes, I do. I mean, I did -- the team we have, you know, fighting it now, Mr. Olson, it's -- I think we're very close to getting to the Supreme Court. And I believe that it will -- Prop 8 will be defeated and that we will have gay marriage across the country. Because it's in the Constitution. I mean, not gay marriage but equality. You know, you can't have discrimination.

And everything that has -- you know, that was wrong and happened in history has been changed by going through the courts.

KING: Don't you -- do you understand the other side of the issue, though, how people --

SYKES: I can understand it. But I think they're wrong. I get it. That's why we have a separation of church and state. You can't have the constitution and your Bible. There's a separation. So I believe everyone should be able to have their religious beliefs, you know, and live by that, if that's what you want to do. But keep it away from the Constitution and what it's saying that we all are equal.

KING: How did it feel to get married?

SYKES: It felt great. It felt great.

KING: Where did you get married?

SYKES: We got married in Palm Springs. Just had a big hot tub. It was crazy, Larry. We had champagne -- no. You're getting excited, weren't you. You were like, hmm. It was like -- it was really spiritual and we had like just a nice weekend and like 40 of our, you know, like closest friends and family. It was fun.

KING: Do you speak French?

SYKES: Un petit peur, just a lit bit . I have to. My wife speaks French to the kids. So I have to learn French. I don't want them ganging up on me. Right now, I just listen for anything that says noir. If it says noir, I know that's black. I go, hey, what are you talking about black for? What's -- so I have to stay on top of it. The kids will be bilingual, hopefully trilingual, because our nanny speaks Spanish. KING: So you're going to have all three going?

SYKES: Yes.

KING: Wanda, you're a sensational act. You're a tremendous performer.

SYKES: Why, thank you. Thank you.

KING: Thank you for being with us.

SYKES: I'm so honored to be here.

KING: My honor.

SYKES: I telling you, this makes my career here.

KING: I hope you win.

SYKES: Sitting across from you.

KING: Sunday night. Jimmy Fallon will be here tomorrow.

SYKES: OK. Put a good word in for me.

KING: You'll be there, right?

SYKES: I will be there.

KING: I hope they have the camera right on you.

SYKES: I want to wear a mouthpiece this time. So that way I'll be ready for when they punch me in the face.

KING: More than 20 million people have been affected by epic flooding in Pakistan. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on the ground with the latest. And we'll hear from him and actress Kristin Davis on what you can do to help, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Joining us now live with the latest on Pakistan's devastating floods, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent. He's with us in Islamabad, Pakistan. How bad is this?

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Larry, we just got here a few hours ago. We're going to be heading south in the country here just in a couple of hours. But I can tell you, just talking to people here in Islamabad, you get a real sense of what's happened over nearly the last month here in Pakistan.

First of all, Larry, it's raining again behind me, which obviously is not good news here. There's been so much water that first started trickling in really in the northwest part of the country. But it's making its way further and further south. Larry, the number that just sort of boggles my mind, is that you think about this country, about a fifth of it, 20 percent is literally under water, which is amazing. You know, food, crops, communities, schools, roads, all kinds of hospitals, all those things really deluged in so many ways over the last several weeks now.

They talk about the number of people affected by this, Larry. You just talked about that, 20 million people. But there are close to a million people right now who are still stranded. Literally can't even get access to these people, can't get them so many of the things they need in terms of food, in terms of medicine.

So it's a really dire situation in so many ways. And it's a little bit hard to explain exactly how you get aid to these people over the next several weeks. They're literally stranded in the middle of these areas where there's no roads, no access to them. That's what they're dealing with right now on the ground here, Larry.

KING: The prime minister has warned about the possibility of epidemic diseases. And aid agencies have reported that the lack of sanitation and contaminated water have already caused a big spike in medical problems. You're the physician. How do you deal with it on this mass scale?

GUPTA: It's a really important point. We always talk about a potential second wave of disease occurring after some sort of natural disaster. In this case, this is a real problem. They're already starting to see it just a few weeks into this.

There's a couple of reasons. First of all, there's just so much contaminated water everywhere. Second of all, some of these regions, Larry, that we're talking about -- again, 20 percent of the country, about the size of Florida, under water now in Pakistan. You simply -- it gets hot over there and people have no clean water to drink. They drink this contaminated water. And puts them at risk for things like cholera, for dysentery.

Mosquitoes breed in this water. So Malaria is a real problem. And vaccinations are low. So you don't have the vaccinations. You have the rise in potential problems here. That doesn't even take into account dire real diseases in the face of significant dehydration. This is no small problem, Larry.

Kids -- they really have a tough chance of sort of making it through that. The water is three to five feet high in so many places. They have no water. They're drinking this contaminated water. It's just a vicious cycle.

I don't know -- to your point, Larry, to your question -- exactly how it ends. They have to get aid to these people. It requires more helicopters. It requires more aid overall getting into the country.

I just flew into Islamabad. We didn't see the sort of plats of supplies sitting on the runway that we saw in Haiti, that I saw in Sri Lanka after the tsunami. They say that right now, Larry, this disaster is worse than what happened in Haiti, what happened in South Asia after the tsunami, and what happened here after the earthquake five years ago, all combined. They say this is worse than all three of those combined right now, Larry.

KING: Unbelievable. Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Islamabad. Great reporting. Unbelievable story.

As we've heard from Sanjay, millions of people in Pakistan are in dire straits because of that worst flooding in decades. Actress Kristin Davis is an ambassador for the aid group Oxfam and she has this urgent message for you. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTIN DAVIS, OXFAM SPOKESMAN: Hi, I'm Kristin Davis. Massive floods have already affected more than 20 million people in Pakistan. You can save lives by donating to Oxfam America right now. Oxfam has been working in Pakistan since 1973. Today, the relief workers are on the ground providing clean water, helping to rescue flood survivors, and delivering hygiene kits that can help prevent the spread of waterborne diseases.

Acting fast will save lives. Please donate now at OxfamAmerica.org. Or you can text the word Oxfam to 25383 to donate 10 dollars to flood relief and recovery efforts in Pakistan. Your donation can help save lives. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Thank you, Kristin.

Jimmy Fallon is here tomorrow night. We thank Wanda Sykes for tonight. It's time now for Anderson Cooper in New Orleans and "AC 360." Anderson?