IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson - Enter the Escape Room with Wanda Sykes

Episode Date: July 8, 2026

Stand-up comedian, actress and writer Wanda Sykes joins IMO to discuss her hilarious encounter with Michelle at the 2009 White House Correspondents dinner. She also shares stories about her time spent at the National Security Agency, the peculiarities of aging, and more about her new special Legacy.Have a question you want answered? Write to us at imopod.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

My friend was like, where are you, why are you meeting all these crazy women from? Okay, see there? What's wrong? What's wrong? Yeah. Oh. Nope. Because when you talk about, they bring up, they pop up.

I can walk out of here something like, hey, girl! And I'm like, oh, geez. Ah, yeah. It's like Candy Man. You can't, don't, don't, uh-uh. Nope. I'm not talking about it. Right.

Right. Nope. This episode of IMO is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. How are you? I am good. Gosh, I'm so ready for like real summer to happen. I know, I know. We never know when these things are going to air,

but as our taping, it's still spring and it's not warm enough. But it's, we're in L.A., so it's warm enough for me. It's a whole different kind of temperature than Wisconsin. What's it going on in Milwaukee? Is it snowing? No, it's not snowing. It's not snowing, but it is not as warm as it is here. So you still got coats out?

40s, 50s. Yeah, coats, sweatshirts. We're probably at the sweatshirt stage now. As soon as it hits 50, everybody will be in shorts. Everybody's going to be flip-flops and, you know, going to go on to the pool. That's right. You go on the pool. That was always the crazy thing about Chicago.

It would be 30 below. And the minute it hit like 30. People are like, open a window. It's summertime. Oh, my gosh. And we're just victims of the cold. I know. I know.

Every time I come to L.A., I'm like, why don't we live here? I know. Why? Well, yeah, why? I know. I guess it's two kids. Two kids still in high school. Once they get out, we are.

You two, hurry up. Finish your education. Free your father and your mother from the cold. Those two. A lot of basketball. Oh my gosh. Every weekend. It just seems to be too much. No, it's not. I'm really having fun coaching them. Well, that's you. How are they? Are they enjoying you coaching them? Well, Austin enjoys me coaching his team. Your oldest. My 16-year-old. Yes. Is the oldest of the youngest.

The oldest of the young crew. He enjoys me coaching. The younger one enjoys me coaching everybody but him. No, I'm just kidding. Aaron, Aaron doesn't mind being coached. But he used to hate it when I coached him. Is he getting better about being coached? Yeah, he's much better. See, this is why I always take up for the youngest sibling. You just can't, you know, you got to give him a minute to fit, you know.

You do. You got to give him some space to, like, decide how he wants to order himself in the household with an older sibling. Yeah, we laugh. We laugh because he is a real. reincarnation of you. That's my boy. He is a reincarnation, but Aaron's my boy, because we're the youngest. It's like me, Aaron, Sasha.

Leslie doesn't count. She's the only girl. She's the only girl, but she's the youngest of the oldest. But she's a little old lady, so she doesn't count. But Aaron, everybody's mood depends on Aaron's mood. Just like you. As it should be. Wake up.

If he's grumpy, the whole house is grumpy. If he's happy, we're all happy. Well, then you should just make them happy. Okay. You sound like grandma. All right, let's get down to business. Yes, we have one of my favorite people, even though she talks about me. That's White House correspondence thing.

We're going to have a conversation about that. Well, I got to tell you, you know, you and I both saw a legacy. Yes, Wanda Sykes' new Netflix special. It's so good. And it's so good that when I'm, this is my first time meeting Wanda. I see her and I'm like, start giggling when I'm looking. matter because I'm thinking about Legacy cracking me up. Well, let's do a proper introduction and get her out here.

Well, Wanda Sykes is an Emmy-winning stand-up comic writer, actress and producer who has been entertaining audiences for over 20 years. No. Can you believe that? That's a long time. Her new Netflix special is called Legacy, which you both you and I saw. And we cannot wait to talk to her about all things, Wanda. please welcome Wanda Sykes.

There she go. Thank you. Welcome. I am, oh. How are you? All right. Oh, that's okay. Come on in. That's what happens.

Take a seat. In the way. See, Wanda, you're such a little bitty person. She just slid in me. She just slid right in. How are you doing? I'm doing well. Thank you.

Thanks for having me here. That's so good. Thanks for being here. Let's just clear up this White House course. Okay, let's do that. Let's do that. Let's do that. So you claim that I was talking to you too much.

I didn't say too much. When you were a little chatty, you were chatty, madam. You were chatty. I was trying to be nice. And you were incredibly nice, but you have to realize the situation. Were you nervous?

Yes. Were you nervous? You know, Colin Powell was there. I mean, it was, for our listeners and viewers, how many years ago was that, Wanda, you were the first female comic host for the White House Correspondence Dinner, which was how, what year was that? 2009. That was 2009. Yeah. Yeah.

I remember because our kids were, they just been born. They were like 12 days old. Uh-huh. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. So you were sleep deprived, too. A little bit. A little bit, a little bit, yeah.

But the way it's set up in the hotel is that they've got the big dais with all the fancy people up there, all the speakers. And then usually the host sits next to the First Lady, which was me at the time. Yes. And we go through a whole dinner, right? Right. I mean, which seems, that seems like no fun. They should have. You know?

Yeah. Who's eating? You can't have that. You know? I didn't. I don't even think I touched my. my food. I was going for my notes. We sat together the whole time and, you know, everybody's looking at you. So I'm thinking, well, I should talk to Wanda a little bit. Just be like, hey, girl, how are you doing? And how are you

kids? And you know, well, come to find out. It was focused. You were focused. It was a lot. I mean, it was a big deal. And then, you know, the first term, you know, your first term and personal Obama and just, you know, and we're black, you know. It's like none of us can mess up. Yeah. Yeah. What does she think? Yeah. I'm gay. I'm like, they did vet me, right? So I'm just sitting here waiting for somebody, I'm like, you know, and it walks, whoopi goldburns or something, you know, so I'm like, any minute now, like, you know, my brother's out there, I'm like, I'm still, I don't know.

I'm still, I'm still happening there. It's still happening. So, yeah, I was just really focused because I wanted to do a great job. And I was just looking over my notes. And I was just running my show through the head, you know, in my head. And you just kept making conversation, which was so sweet. It was so sweet. But I was just like, not right, hang.

That's what I want. Give me a second. Trying to figure this out. I think I actually went, oh, this. At one point, I was like, and I don't even know who was on the other side of me. But I think I had to turn around and keep him coming. company, whoever it was. I forgot which reporter it was.

You were like, she don't want to talk to me. Yeah. Yeah. Well, let's talk about your new Netflix special legacy. Yes. Yes. Yeah, you recorded it at your alma mater, Hampton. Yes.

That's great. What made you decide to record at Hampton? I wanted to do something big. I wanted this one to be. really special. Okay. And, you know, I played different cities and, and I said, well, what, you know, what, what, what's the place? What, what says a lot about me and, uh, and would be challenging for me and my producing partner,

uh, page her where she's like, you should, you should go back to your school. And I was like, I don't know, I don't know about that, you know? And I thought about it. And I was like, you know what? It totally makes sense to, to go there. For one, I want to get back to the school. Okay. I think it would be a great, you know, and it was an incredible experience for the school and the students because we put a lot of the students to work.

Yeah, sure. And also, I'm very proud of being an alumnus from Hampton. And so I wanted to, you know, put some light on the school and HBCUs because HBCUs are under such attack right now. And also when I look at my audience, I'm blessed. I have a very diverse audience. But, you know, it's probably more 65, 35, you know, more 65, like white people. White people love me. Yeah, yeah.

So I wanted to take my audience and bring them to my school to let them see that, hey, this is where. I'm from. This is what made me. And also for Hampton to see, you know, hey, I'm, I'm still here. Yeah, exactly. That's right. That's what's important. Now, how long does it take you to prepare the program for it? Is it, is it like, it. Yeah. Yeah, I try. Yeah, I tour with the material for at least, at least two years. At least two years. Yeah, this was probably three years. Yeah. Yeah. Because it's always changing and put that. and take that out, you know, always write new things. So yeah, it takes a, I can't, I can't do it. Like, I can't turn on that fast. Yeah. Man, man. What a, what a freaking gift, you know, I mean, were you always a wonderful storyteller? I mean, when you were growing up in Virginia, were you a, were you a funny little kid? Were you more of a storyteller? Were you quiet, shy?

Where does this part of yourself come from? My parents, great storytellers. I grew up around, yeah, my grandmothers, they're great storytellers. I talked too much when I was a kid. I was very talkative. And I got in trouble a lot. Like when my parents were having company over, they would send me off to my grandparents because they had no idea what I was going to say.

You know, like, yeah, like, my grandmother's friend, I told her she had horse teeth. Because she would laugh. She's like, and I was just looking at my, and they all knew when I was going to say something. They said I would make this face like, and they were like, oh, God, here it comes. Here it comes. Well, it was just the beginning of observational comedy. I think so. I had to set up, but no joke.

Right. Yeah, so you just said exactly what you saw. Yeah, this woman's wig was crooked, and I was like, where's your part over here? You know, it was like, it was just embarrassing. It was embarrassing for them. And then I would get in trouble. I would get in a lot of trouble. So what did trouble look like?

I suppose a spanking Did you get snatched up? A little pop in the mouth. Go get a switch. Uh-huh. Go get a switch. Did you behave in school? Yes.

Oh, I had to. Yeah. Yeah. You don't mess up at school. Yeah. No, no. Mm-mm. And both of your folks were military or were you just, just your dad?

Just my dad's in the army. Yeah. Was he like that military dad or? No, you know what? It was cool. Because, and he didn't want us to live on base either. We lived off base. And it's also to give him a break, too.

Yeah, yeah. You know, so he would come home and take the uniform off and just be, you know, dad, you know. He was, I mean, a black man, so there was rules and everything. Just, you know, on GP. I was noticing. Now, both of your parents went to college. No, my dad did. Your dad did.

Okay. My mom did, yeah. And, and, and, but your mom, worked at a bank. Yeah. But she started off working at a newspaper. Okay. The Virginia pilot.

I think she was doing ad sales. Were they any, either of them naturally funny or? Yes. Yeah. Both my parents are funny. Yeah. Very funny. Yeah.

And they were really good, um, uh, mimics. You know, like if they, if they would tell a story or whatever, somebody in church, they were going to character. And, yeah, they were really good at that. Yeah. So, I mean, maybe that's where I, you know, picked some of it up from. Yeah. Because they would do that.

And this, the, did you write as a kid? I did. I did. I remember it was like a smoky to bear contest or whatever. And you had to write a story. And then I did. I won a prize. I think I was in my first grade or something.

Really? Okay. Yeah, now I'm just remembering it out. I'm putting it together now. The one just starts out like, I don't know why I'm funny. I don't know how I got here. And it's like, we'll find out. Oh, I won 12 competitions when I was in.

You know, like, yeah, I think I was really smart. I'm going to think of it. Yeah. And my whole household was funny. Everybody was just cracking me up. He was cracking up. Right, right. It was my uncle Richard Pryor.

I don't remember. No, no, no. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance, a company committed to helping people move forward and live fully. So Mish, you've lived in so many places. At what point living somewhere new do you think it really starts to feel like home? I think it's, for me, it's when routines are in place. kids are settled, although our kids are grown now, but when we were moving, they were little, you know, when they felt settled in a new school and they started making friends and life started to feel more routine. That's when it starts to feel like home.

Well, you know, I don't really feel settled somewhere until I've tried every single local sandwich shop and know exactly which one is my new. favorite. When you move to your new place, whether it was in New Jersey or D.C., was there anything that you immediately did to make you feel settled or comfortable? Well, I think it's, you know, getting, it was getting our items in place, you know? I mean, I'm a traveler who likes to unpack completely. Like, I don't feel settled in, not just in home or on vacation, until every item is unpacked and put in drawers so that it feels like, you know, I'm not living out of suitcases. And the same is true when we were moving as a family. You know, when you're living out of boxes, when you don't, you know, feel like you know how to access and get to your stuff right away,

you feel like you're visiting. So once we, you know, we get everything settled in, that's when I started to breathe a sigh of, ah, we're here. Now, going through the home buying process, with no experience can be quite daunting. But Progressive is here to help make it all a bit more approachable. As part of their Open the House initiative, Progressive offers practical tools, educational resources, and guidance through their website to help people navigate the home buying process with more confidence. What's more, Progressive is also offering up to $13,500 each in downpain, assistance to at least 200 eligible first-time homebuyers.

This program called the up payment could be a game changer for homebuyers who need a little extra boost to help close that last gap. Want to learn more about the up payment program and Progressive's commitment to first-time homebuyers? Visit progressive.com slash open the house where homebuyers can discover more about housing challenges and access resources and support to empower them in their housing journey. So was there a lot of discipline, you know, or were your parents, like the kind of parents that, wow, when company wasn't around and you weren't embarrassing them, were they interested,

I mean, were they encouraging of your voice and, you know. Oh, no. No. No. I remember my mother, I was outside playing with some friends. and she yelled out the wonder, Rhonda, I said, yes, ma'am, fix your voice. I'm like, what does that mean?

She's like, you always, raise your voice. You can speak in a little higher, you know, raise your voice. I was like, what is going on? Yeah, so I'm like, what is that? What does she talk about? Fix your voice. Yeah.

She wanted me to fix my voice. And now I get paid for having this voice. Yes, it's a good voice. It's very distinctive. Very. Thank goodness you didn't listen. Right. What other stuff did they want you to do that you ignored?

Oh, boy. Probably not be gay, probably that. Say, let's start there. Don't you get a guy's another shot. Come on. But you tried. I tried. You did.

You put the old college trying there. I did. You got a whole husband. A whole. husband. I did. And then you said, nah. It's working for you. It's not working for me. When did you start being aware of yourself? And I'm not just talking about your sexuality, but aware of your uniqueness as a person. I think when I was at, when I was working at NSA, And so, you know, it's like, okay, I got my degree.

I got, you know, good government job, security. And I just felt out of place. I was like, this is not what I'm supposed to be doing for the next 20 years, 20, 25 years. But I, yeah, I just was like just searching. Like, what is it that I'm supposed to do? And I remember, like in high school yearbook and all, everyone wrote how, you know, You know, you're so funny. You should, you know, you need to be on stage and in college, you know, same thing.

And I was like asking my sorority sisters. I was like, y'all think I'm funny. It's like, oh, girl, you would crack us up on a time. I was like, well, all right, maybe I'll, you know. Did you ever do theater or any kind of stand-up or you were just the friend that was funny? I was the friend that was funny. I did do some theater in high school. You're about to remember something again.

In high school. But what did I do? I played the drums in one of the plays. Really? Yeah. And I didn't really have many lines, but I played drums and band. But I loved theater and loved hanging around, you know, that group. But what did you major in?

Marketing. So when you were at the NSA and you were like, I'm not doing this for 20 years, what was the step you took? Or did you stay there a little longer and said, let me try this out while I'm working there? Or did you go cold turkey? No, I stayed there until I was able to at least save up a nice little, you know, lump sum. And then was able to play in clubs and, like, be the MC or the middle act, the feature act. And do that enough where I felt like I could, you know, I could survive. So you did that while you were still at the NSA.

So what, did you look up comedy clubs and just go to one? I knew that was coming. I knew that was good. Well, why? Yeah, I got the yellow pages out. That's what I'm saying. See, see. Okay, no, no.

That is not what happens. So what happened? How did you get there? I heard about a contest on the radio station and comedy was one of the talent, you know, So I wrote some jokes. I just sat at my little desk and wrote some jokes and went down an audition. The guy was like, yeah, you're on the show. And I first time being on stage, no idea what I was doing.

But I told my little jokes, people laughed. And I was like, oh, this is cool. And the MC, Andy Evans, he was, you know, the popular guy in D.C. And he was like, who are you? Where did you come from? Like, I've never seen you in the clubs. I was like, I was working for the clubs. Yeah, exactly, exactly.

So, and then he showed me around. And you hadn't gone to a comedy club before. Wow. How old were you when you went to this first, did this first contest? Let me see, that was in, that was in 87. So that would, that would mean I was what, like 20, was that 24? Close enough. It requires, man.

I'm not doing that. Early 20s. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Early 20s. Thank God.

And you just free-handed, wrote those jokes without, like, looking up joke writing. You're just like, this is a funny story. I watched a lot of comedy, you know. Yeah. I watched a lot of comedy growing up and loved, you know, of course, you know, prior and all that. George Carlin and, like, my favorite as a kid was Mom's Maibley, Jackie Mom's Mabley. Yeah. See, people don't know.

You played those records. I used to walk around and talk like her. Oh, my mom told me that. Oh, really? Yeah. As a kid. Yeah, as a kid. Because my grandma would make my grandmother laugh.

I would always. Did you have teeth or not when you would. I would do help. Yeah. Okay. See, we had to go to our grandfather's house to hear moms Mabel because she cursed. Yeah. And my parents, we didn't have any moms maybe.

The record's made. But we had Richard Pryor. We had. But that was when we were older. He was cursing. Yeah. So, all right, so you're at the comedy club. So you're doing this while you're still working.

Mm-hmm. Do you remember your first? bit what you talked about? I know I'm asking about memory. I don't really say much. I don't take my ginkgo today. I remember one bit it was about the you know the auto shade, the big cardboard sunglasses.

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Well, there's instructions on the side, you know, on them. And I was like, who needs these instructions? You know, like it tells you to remove the auto shape before driving. I'm like, you really, you shouldn't be driving if you need the structures. You know, it's like

you're going down the beltway, you see this car coming towards you with these with big ass sunglasses. He didn't read the instructions. So it was observational stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It wasn't until man, like

probably I guess the I'm will be me special. So that was like 2008 or whatever. A little before that, I think, is when I started to get really personal, you know, and talk about myself. Yeah. So after you won the contest, did life blow up?

I didn't win. You didn't win. I didn't win. I did not win. But close second, so I didn't win. Yeah. I just started, you know, Andy took me around D.C. and visit the comedy clubs. And I was like, okay, this is, this is what I want to do.

And then I just bombed, like just ridiculous bomb. Because now I'm exposed to it and I see how it could go horribly wrong, right? So you lose. So now, you know, you get nervous and I was just full of confidence at first because I didn't know any better. So now that I was like, oh, oh, God, this is awful. Yeah. I would just go up and just bomb. So when do you get used to that process, right?

Because that is a, but it has to be, right? Right. Because you don't know whether something is funny until you test it out. Until you test it out. Right? And it could be the order of what you said. And then you realize, oh, I left that part out. But so you have to get used to bombing.

Yes. You do. And, oh, it sucks. It really does. I mean, you lose sleep. You know, your food don't taste right. Just the sky's not as blue. It's horrible.

And you don't get over until you have a, you know, a good show. I mean, but now it's not as intense when a joke doesn't go well because I have so many jokes that I know work. Or, you know, you can laugh your way out of it or, you know, Yeah, so I'm okay with it. Yeah. And then you're just so good now. Well, you know. Well, I was like, no, I just don't bond. Yeah, I just don't.

It just doesn't happen. Yeah. Not a whole show. What was your first big break, you know, when you felt like, die, now I'm going to quit my job. You went in and threw down your pink slip. I, well, actually, I quit. I didn't even quit.

I asked, I went to the department head. and asked for a leave of absence, because I want to hold it to my health insurance. Yeah, yeah. So, and he was like, you know what, I'm going to give you a year. Go do it. And, you know, if it works out, great.

If not, you know, we want you back here. Perfect. Yeah, so I just started touring and, you know, hitting the clubs. And it made, it all made sense. And I got the Chris Rock Show. I was a writer on it on, on Chris Rock show.

Was that the big major thing? Yeah, I think that was the real big break for me. So how did that happen? Did he see you somewhere? Yeah. I opened for him at Carolinize, and this is when he was preparing for Bring the Pain. Yeah.

And he was like, man, you're funny. You know, I'm going to remember you. Yeah, okay. So when he got his talk show on HBO, I got a call and said, Hey, Chris Rock wants you to submit some. writing materials. I'm like, sure. So I, you know, wrote some stuff, sent it in and got the job. How did it feel being in a room of writers going from you just, you know, sitting at your desk to now you're at a table full of peers?

Well, luckily, a couple of them I was already friends with because they were stand-up comics. So they were, I was the only woman, too, only female. Yeah. So it was nice to see guys who I are, you know, had like a little com camaraderie with, you know, they were good. So it was, yeah, they were, they didn't cut me any slack, though. You know, it was, yeah, everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody for themselves, you know. And were you still doing stand-up while you're ready for him? So you just keep grinding. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Because, and that was my favorite thing is I would submit monologue jokes. And if they didn't make it into the, into the, into the, monologue. He didn't select them. I was like, he don't think this funny. Watch this. And I'll go out to the comedy seller and do the jokes and get laughs. I told you. They're like, who was she saying I told you to? Like, you know, like

it was like I had a fit on stage. Like, I do a joke. Yeah, I told him. I told him. Like, who should talk to? And how did your comedy style evolve? I mean, did you feel your growth through all this

process? You know, what and what changed for you as a comic through this, you know, through these stages of growth? Yeah, I think confidence. Confidence and, and you just have to have that, the desire to do it.

You know, there's some comedians out here who are doing the same jokes they've been doing forever. Because it's safe. I like, I like the, you know, the edginess. I like to take some risk. So for me, you know, and my agent drives her nuts. But as soon as a special comes out, I'm like, well, I got to go make some more jokes.

So she's like, well, you know, you can still tour with this act. I'm like, no, it's done. I'm, you know, I'm done with it. Really? Yeah. So after you do a special show like legacy, then you won't go around and you're going Sturtle from scratch. Really?

Yeah. Oh, see, I didn't realize that's how that would. Well, we should use your jokes. You'd like on a use them. Go ahead. Go ahead. Enjoy. Enjoy.

It's like, he's good jokes. She just threw them out. It's just like, well, that was funny. It's not going to be funny again. It's like. But it's not like singers. Singers, you know, same song, musician, they do the same song over and over again.

You still want to hear it. Yeah. You know. Yeah. And at what point did you say, okay, I can act and I'm going to be in in these movies or shows, TV shows? I didn't know I could. I didn't know that. Actually, it started on the Chris Frog show.

We had a crew for a day and we were shooting some sketches. And then, you know, a producer being a good line producer, she's like, look, you know, you have three more hours with the crew. you guys have anything we can shoot that's really quick and maybe something in the office and the guys, they wrote something video mama and if I wanted you're going to be video mama

I'm a writer, I'm not on camera she's like, no no, you can do it. You're going to video mama and it's a videotape that you can play and she watches your kids so you just sit your kids in front of TV so I'm in there and I'm like, hey put that day!

Where you going? You know, it's like Like the video. Yeah, video mom. Yeah. I wish you would. I wish you would. You know, just. See, that's so good.

So we shot that and got a big laugh. They just started writing me into more bits. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance, a company committed to helping people move forward and live fully. You know, when you're thinking about buying a home, you're not just buying a house, you're buying a neighborhood, a commute, a school system, everything. And at the same time, you're thinking long term, what's this going to look like in a few years from now? Is this somewhere you can grow into? Is it going to work for your day-to-day life? And I think that's the part that can feel really overwhelming.

trying to flash forward and imagine your life one, two, ten years from now. Progressive understands the hurdles first-time homebuyers are facing, from housing affordability issues to finding the right tools and knowledge. Progressive's Open the House initiative is committed to breaking down these barriers and making first-time home buying a little easier. Since 2024, Progressive has committed more than 16 million, dollars toward this goal. As one example, this year they're expanding their up payment program, now in year two, by offering down payment assistance of up to $13,500 each to at least 200 eligible

first-time homebuyers. Want to learn more about the up payment program and Progressive's commitment to first-time homebuyers? Visit progressive.com slash open the house where homebuyers can discover more about housing challenges and access resources and support to empower them in their housing journey. So when did you get your first, were you doing that after Chris Rock, were you just now writing and, you know, the work just comes after that? Did you find? Or were you still, you know, plotting a career? Were you, was your stand-up getting bigger? Were you going to bigger audiences? Yes. Uh-huh.

My stand-up was getting bigger, my audience. Yeah, I got a special, Comedy Central hour special. So first it was a half hour, then I got an hour. Then it was a big tour after that. And, oh, and then I, because of the Chris Rock show, Eddie Murphy, you know, fan of Chris, I got a part in Nutty Professor. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, you were good in that, too.

Yeah, gloating or whatever. I got their hair. Yeah. Uh-huh. So. Yeah, I love this special legacy where, you know, I mean, yeah, how are you feeling about the political climate? I mean, you know. It's, it's awful.

It's awful. I mean, it's, but here's the thing that. What you said? We were stuck in the shittiest escape room ever. feels like we have been stuck in the shittiest escape room ever. I mean, you know, all the clues have been redacted. You can't, you just can't get out. Can't get out.

It's like, you need Harriet Tubman to get us out. This is, this is awful. It's like Prius. Yeah, yeah. But here's the thing. Like, as, it's as bad as it, is, right? There's, I think with us,

there's a sense of, we're gonna get through it. We're gonna, we're gonna, we're gonna get through it, right? Yeah. But it's like, well, why are we out protesting? Because my wife, you know, she's French. So she's like, you know, in France, they just, they just shut shit down.

It's like, they just shut it down. That's it. And she's like, why aren't you doing that? Why aren't, I don't understand. Why isn't people, reacting, responding like this. I'm like, because we go, you know, yeah, this is really bad.

Oh, man. Isis, you know, deporting people. Oh, wow, they're killing people. Oh, yeah, but my Netflix is on. You know, it's like, you know, it's like squirrel. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly.

You know, it's we, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, when you have a lot and it's, oh, what they're doing over there? Oh, that's bad, you know, but. Well, it's bad as bad as you. think something will be, it's like the speed at which we forget about it is pretty amazing to me. And we'll be outrage. Yes. Because in legacy, I mean, people really connect with the jokes. I mean, you're talking about immigration. You're talking about racism. I mean, so when people laugh about this stuff, there's a connection. I mean, you're loosening a valve in people. So don't you get a sense that

You know, people, like you said, people care. They do. People are affected. Absolutely. And that's the feedback that I get is they appreciate that I am speaking on these things because they need a release. They need that valve release. They do because of because you feel like you're not doing anything or you're just under a rock. So when you bring these issues up and bring them to light and, and.

allow them to laugh about it, then, you know, people, people really appreciate it, you know. And I hope it makes them think a little, you know. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, it's, but you're not just talking about. And I love the way you talk about the greed masked as benevolence, you know.

Right. It's like, if you really want to be green, why don't you take some money off of my room instead of asking me to save some towels. And can't believe that. Like at a hotel. No, we're not changing your sheets now. Right. What? What do you mean you're not changing my sheets?

That's the whole point, right? That's the whole, that's the reason I mean. At a hotel, let's say. It's the hotel. You don't get up here and change my sheets. What's wrong with you? I sleep in my dirty sheets at home. No, I want fresh sheets here.

And towels. And towels. Say, I want a towel from the front part. Yep. I use all the tiles. Yeah. Right boot, left boot, butt towel, everything. Use them all. Use all that stuff. So you talk more about your family and legacy. Yes. And you mentioned your wife, Alex, being from France. How did you guys meet?

We met, well, I saw her on a ferry going over to Fire Island. Fire, I just, people don't know, off of a Long Island, New York. So, yeah, something I just saw her in a peripheral and it's like, wow, okay. And I, like, heard something that said, like, Wanda, that's what you need. I was like, were you dating at the time? Were you dating what you did in a minute now? What? I was maybe dating.

Okay. Okay. But not in a relationship. There you go. Okay. Yeah. Don't get all. Yeah.

You know, were you out and about, you know? Because it was like you were looking at what you needed, which sounded like you were getting a lot of what you didn't need, perhaps. Well, yeah. My friend was like, where do you, why are you meeting all these crazy women from? Okay. See there? What's wrong? What's wrong?

Yeah. women. Ooh. Nope. Because when you talk about they bring up, they pop up. I can walk out of here

something like, hey, girl! I'm like, oh, geez. Oh, yeah. It's like Candyman.

You can't, don't, don't, uh-uh. Nope. I'm not talking about. Right. Right. Nope.

Nope. Nope. But you had enough bad experiences to be like, that looks good. That looks right. I just, I just said my, I had a therapist and she passed away, but we only spoke on the phone. Okay.

She never, she didn't see people in, you know, face-to-face. So. She didn't see any people face-face-face-face-face-face-oh. Wow. I don't think so. Okay. Maybe a couple. Okay.

But, so she had passed, you know, and I heard her, that's what I heard. That's what you need. and other people who were seeing, who had, you know, said that she was popping up little signs and stuff. Yeah. So anyway. And I, and I, but I thought she meant that, because Alex was sitting with this other woman,

and they were playing with a kid. So I was like, oh, maybe that's what she's saying. Like, eh, you know. And long so short, the person I was dating. Oh, so you work with somebody you were dating. We had a little falling out. Okay.

On the boat after you were looking at Alice? Once I made it to an island. Once I made it to Ireland. We had a little falling out. It was like, yeah, get her off the island. Okay. She needed to go. Just hit the go.

She had to go. So I was like, call my friend. Yeah, get her out of here. Oh, Lord. So then I walked with my friend. like, Wanda, where you meet these crazy people from? You know, like, look, what do you say when you, you know, you meet somebody? I was like, I'm like, hey, how are you doing?

She's like, well, and if I say, okay, so how's your day going? And I started telling her what I did that day. She's like, no, I don't know. I was to hear what you did? Just say, you know, you're beautiful and blah, blah, blah. It's corny. So she's like, and don't talk about your dog. Nobody cares about your dog.

So. That was your big rap line? Yeah. Yeah, you know. So I'm walking, I'm walking my friend, and we bump into a friend that she knows. And it's like, hey, Wanda, this is so-and-so, Juan, this is a friend Mary. And she said, how you doing, Wanda? I was like, well, I got up at 8, I had some oatmeal, and here's my dog, you know. And she's looking at me like, what?

And I was like, and I'm remodeling my kitchen. And she's like, okay, she said, well, you should talk to my friend Alex. She's into natural stone and all that. Boom. She was on the ferry. So we started talking. Oh, wow. And from there, that was it.

And it was love at first sight. That was it. Nice. And y'all got married and had kids. Yes. Was that always in your dance card? Absolutely not. No ma'am.

Was Alex like, Look, this is, you get me. Yep. This is, okay. She's like, put down the gaunt. Yep. She's like, I want kids. I'm going to have kids.

And I was like, okay. And I asked, I said, look, can we, like, just, can you hold off? Like, give me a, give me at least like a year. And let's try to figure out. No, I didn't ask for you. I said, can we hold off like, like, let's give me like three, six months. And let's see where this is going. first.

That seems reasonable. This is, you know, where I think is going. Then I'll probably get there. I said, but, and she's like, okay, so she did. And how long did you guys date before you had kids? Geez, maybe, I guess, maybe a year. Okay. Yeah.

That's September. Yep. About a year and a half, I think. So your world, you just went from zero to very, everybody's here. Now, how did your dog react? It was two years. It was two years. How'd your dog react?

That's who you talk about that. Yeah. What's your dog's name? His name was Riley. His name was Riley. Poor Riley. Yeah. Riley, when we brought the kids home,

Riley looked, he looked up at me and it was like he said, you effed up. He was like, you effed up. He's like, we had it so good. Yeah, he's like, how you do this? This is going to suck. You know that, right? I don't know.

You really messed up. You messed up. So what was the adjustment period? So, you know, you guys, you meet the right person, the love of your life, you date for a little bit, you decide this is it. Now you're married with kids. Did it feel like your head was about to spin off the changes in your life? life that happened, you know. And how did you manage the adjustment? It felt, it felt right. It was a lot. It was a lot. But it just felt like, okay, no, this is,

this is how it's supposed to be. I felt like I was in my place. Yeah. And I felt like blessed, really blessed, like, I got kids now, you know, because I never thought that I would, I would be a mom. And now, you know, my whole, whole ass mama now. Whole ass mom. Yeah. Man, man. Discipline and everything. Mm-hmm.

How old are they now? They just turned 17. 17. Oh, so. Oh, you in it. I'm in it. You are really in it. Yes.

Yeah. Who's the disciplinarian? You or Alex. I would say more on my part, you know. Mm-hmm. I mean, Alex is strong. She's strong with them. to. But when they don't listen, she'll, would you tell them, oh, okay. And then I get mad.

Like, why, why do I have to tell y'all? Well, just listen to her. Just listen to her. Why, why, you don't want to do this, do you? I like that. You don't like me, you know, right? Okay, so just, that's me and I also. Yeah. Yeah. You, you make them feel like you're doing them a favor. Right. That's, yeah. I'm, I'm going to hook you up on how to not get in trouble. Right. Right. Right. Or you're in trouble with me. Yeah, I love that.

And you don't want to be in trouble with me. It's just a great psychological advantage. Yeah. It's like your life is over. Yes. You're in trouble with me. Yeah. Did you go through the spanking, no spanking thing?

Oh, right? Yeah, could you talk about that in Legacy? Yeah. We said no spanking, but then somebody needed to get popped. Yeah, he needed it. You needed it. Sometimes you need more than words. Yeah.

You know? Well, they're all different. You know? I always thought, like, kids should know what a spanking is. Because you can't threaten something that they don't know, right? So, you know, and I had two girls, and girls are pretty bright, you know? Right. One little pop, and it's just like, oh, that wasn't pleasant. It wasn't pleasant for me.

Right. It was true. It hurt me as much as it hurt them. But it was like now it was just a good threat. Then it became just a good threat. Right. Don't make me. Right.

And it's like, and they were like, yeah, probably. That's not, that's not necessary. But I do believe that every now and then. Did you get a spanking ever? Oh, yeah. I didn't get many. Neither of us got many. But I don't remember you getting.

Yeah, the belt, the jump rope. Jump rope. Oh, yeah. Plastic jump rope. You know, the plastic jump rope with the handles. She gave us that a couple. But I don't remember, I remember, I remember getting it. Yeah, I remember you getting.

it too. I was usually cheering her on from the back, you know, running after him. But I remember the last spanking you got. And this was our household. My mother loved laugh and she had a great sense of humor and we could make her laugh. And Craig had done something. You probably did something to me. Right. And I was, take mom! And she's like, boy, I told you. And she grabbed the belt. And this time he ran. She chased me around the house. And she's running behind him and I'm behind. her. I'm like, get him, get him. And she's hopping over furniture. And our house is as big as this room. I mean, I'm sure she's thinking, boy, if you don't stop running, you know, and then he hopped over a chair and got on the couch and grabbed my stuff Snoopy and put it in front of him. He's like, Mom, don't hit me. And she just looked at him and started cracking up,

you know, because it was ridiculous, you know. It's like, here I am chasing this little boy around. And I was probably big by then. Because I was older. Right, right. And she just took the jump rope but just like dropped it. And that was it. That was the last potential spanking. What?

No justice? Is this what we're doing in this household? And that, yeah, that was the last spanking in our household. So. Yeah, you just have to, like you say, it's just the threat of it. Yeah. Yeah. They know.

Yeah. I remember I, I'd forget. got my, I know my mom dropped me off my grandmother. So that's where I was catching the bus. And I left my books in the car. So I was like, I can't go to school. I don't have any books. The teacher's going to be yelling at me and the kids are going to make fun of me.

My grandma said, okay, you can stay home. And he said, well, you know, we got to tell your mom, you know, that you didn't go to school. So now I'm stressed over that, you know. I'm stressed over that. So I came up with me, my grandmother to build. You just beat me and tell it. Tell it. Tell it.

It's been cut. It's finished. I can't live like this all day. I was like, just tell, just do it. You know, let me get the spanking and then I can join my day off. Exactly, exactly. And she laughed so hard. She couldn't do it.

She couldn't do it. And she told my mother, don't you beat that girl? She beat herself up enough today. I swear to God, Wanda, after, because my, My team watched Legacy, too. And this one, Crystal, on the gas pass, she's like, ma'am, tell me that that doesn't happen. I mean, literally, we're on the plane.

I'm like, explaining, no, it does. It does. It's coming. Can you talk about what you're doing? Oh, yeah. I hit my 60s, and I don't know where all this gas comes from, but it's just a lot of gas, a lot of gas. And you really have to focus on not passing gas in public.

Because if you relax, it's going to happen. It just happens. And I was talking to one of my good friends, and she's a, you know, CEO, big job. And she's like, girl, I was on a meeting. And I stood up and it just, I just, and they all heard it. I was like, oh, my God. I said, what did you do? She said, I just said, meeting's adjourned.

See, because when you're in your 60s, you run the meeting, right? By that time, you can pass gas in the meeting that you're running. Right, right. I told her, that's how you have to end all your meetings now, you know. Let them know that's just how it's going to go. And how's Esther Role doing? Oh, Esther. You're looking pretty good.

Well, I mean. It looks like she's living somewhere else. No, Esther's here. If I, yeah, I lived this, this time. Stop up. Esther is there. She is there. Actually, when I was editing, when I was editing Legacy, I was like, oh, boy.

And by producer party, she was like, you see Esther, don't you? I was like, yeah. Look at Esther. Esther's just living her best life. Esther's just all out. She's like, you know, you could have worn like a body shaper on this. I was like, no, I can't. Yeah, how can you do what you're doing with all that?

I'm rolling around on the stage and all. I was like, I, no, I had to crack the rib if I didn't want a body shape. But, so yeah, I just let Esther out. You let her live. I let her live, let her live. Yep. But I hit my 40s, Esther popped up, that fat roll. That fat roll popped.

I was like, what is this? And I was doing crunches and all it. She was determined. Esther was determined. Esther was climbing out of Spanx I was I was on this night show Jay Leno on this night show

and I had been I just heard I was like what is going Esther was just working her way out to Spanx then just laid out Hey Jay I was like

I was like no no Esther So I just I named her Esther roll I love late Nate I love Nick I like hmm cheese cake

you know So I pull up the Costco. That's just like, yippie! Oh, boy. It's like Disneyland for her. She loves Costco. Esther loves Costco. Oh, boy.

There's so many of them. She loves Costco. They're everywhere. And now she's, I say, this has been a little depressed. Because whenever those Like those Zipic commercials come on I hear her just I'm not

That's the what's wrong He's like All my friends are gone I was like I said Yeah I wouldn't do that to her Oh my goodness

You wouldn't do that I said I'm not I'm not going to do it to you Don't worry about it But you do look great Wanda You really look great So you got to be doing something besides taking Esther to Costco.

I'm boxing now. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I love the box. Yeah, that's a lot of my training. How often are you in the gym? Yeah, like when, I mean, if I'm not working, if I'm home, I try to at least like five times, you know, five days a week. Oh, man. Yeah.

I have a great trainer Cameron and he'll hold the mitts. Yeah. So I hit the midst and we'll do some strength training. Yeah. I love it. Yeah. Yeah. I fell in love with it because I had, I did a movie, a drama, and it's boxing.

Yeah. So I had to learn how to hold mitts. And then I just stayed with it. Yeah. When did you do the, when did you film this is undercut? Undercard. Undercard. I'm sorry.

Undercard. We filmed this in Puerto Rico two years ago. It was two years ago. Yeah, I think so. I think it was two years ago. Was that your first dramatic role? First dramatic role. Wow.

Yeah. And, man, it was hot in Puerto Rico. That was a different kind of heat. Yeah. Different kind of heat. But it was, yeah, I love shooting it, love the cast, the director, Tamika. It was just a great experience. So I'm excited that that's finally going to be out where people are going to get to see it.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Is it going to start streaming? It'll be available for. or to buy May 18th. Oh, great.

Or like Apple or Prime. It's a beautiful story. You want to just talk a bit about it? Undercard. Yeah, Undercard is... I play a former boxer, who's now a trainer, struggling with addiction.

She's raising her sister's child. Her sister passed away. And she also is trying to reunite with her older son, who's a boxer. And she had to give him up when he was very young because of her addictions. And yeah, so it's just this woman trying to, you know, win in the ring and now, you know, win in life and try to reunite with her family. And it's really, it's a family story, but it's just set in the world of box. I would have never known that that was your exposure to boxing that film. You didn't box before then. You look like a, you look like a former champ in there. Yeah. Yeah. Add your guns out and everything.

Shoot. But it's a really beautiful movie. And I watched it and I didn't fall asleep. Oh, why, thank you. I stayed up. Oh, I thank you. I did. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Which is saying. Something. Yeah. No, but it's a really beautiful, beautiful film. Is there anything at this point that you haven't done that you wish you could do? Actually, I did tell my publicist that I wanted to do this. You really?

I did. We were on your bucket list. I rarely ask her for things. Oh, my God. But I was like, I want, I want to do, yeah. Aw, because you felt bad about talking about me. There's the one thing I did ask for. That's wonderful.

That makes us feel good. Well, you have definitely worked out this special. Thank you. It is everything. It is laugh out loud. And not too dirty. You're not cursing that much. No.

You know, so you can have the older kids watch it. But, you know, I just thank you for, you know, all that you do. But we do have our listener question. Yes. Because we do give advice here at IMO. We try to give back to the people who are listening. And now they got Wanda. They're going to get from Wanda.

And this is Joanna. My husband and I are thinking about buying a home and we're trying to decide what matters most as we start a family. We have a three and a five year old. We love the idea of being in a neighborhood with a strong sense of community. It reminds me of my own childhood where neighbors looked out for each other and it felt safe for kids. to grow up. At the same time, we know that school quality is really important, and we're weighing whether it makes more sense to prioritize that from the start, even if it means living somewhere we feel less connected to. My husband feels like we should choose a neighborhood we love and figure out the

logistics later, whether that's commuting or finding other options. But I personally worry that the day-to-day reality of that would become exhausting, especially if more of the responsibility falls on me. My question is, how do you decide between a place that feels like home right away and one that might offer better long-term opportunities for your kids? As a fellow Chicagoan, I know the commute you had to Whitney Young, my own mother, moved us to the suburbs so a decent high school would be closer to our home. Appreciate your advice. If it's job-related, then you sort of have to do what you've got to do. Right. And that's not new. I mean, I think parents, families throughout, you know, the history.

You know, you go where, you know, mom and dad can earn a living. And that's certainly true if you're a military kid, you know. And you remember how resilient kids can be. So sometimes you just don't have a choice. But I've been talking more about, because what we do lose in that job move is that a lot of families, they don't have support. Right? So you move for a job.

Now it's you and your partner and the kids, but you don't live in that extended family unit, which is how we grew up. You know, I mean, we grew up on the south side of Chicago where everybody lived within like a five-mile radius. I mean, literally, you know, uncles, aunties, all of our grandparents. You could walk around the corner.

You could get in a car, drive five minutes, be at another family's house, which meant that there was always some support, you know, especially when it came to child care, right? So now you, you know, if you got some aunt, a cousin, a grandparent, somebody who can step in, you know, and help out. So I think that's a long way of saying, if you have a choice, factor in community and support. I don't know, I don't know if I care as much about the house or the school, if it's not a horrible school district, you know, I mean, if it's not dangerous, which is in some instances, you know, I went across town because the high school right by me was a little, you know, it was a little dangerous at the time I was

going there, right? So to me, it was worth going across town to a school that was a college prep school. But we still lived in our neighborhood, you know. We still lived around the corner from grandparents and uncles and aunts. And that meant something, you know. Yeah. I agree with that. But it didn't seem like they have like extended family. Right.

Yeah, it didn't even come up. Yeah, it didn't even come up. But yeah, I agree that if you find a community where you feel comfortable, and you can build those relationships. Like, we were very lucky where Alex was living in this community when I met her. So, you know, there was the cop next door and then, you know, started meeting this group of friends. And there was, there's a little, she has this little French contingency there. So we were surrounded by people who became family for us.

So as the kids get older, their kids were getting older and we would, you know, look out for each other. So that is important. And a good school district, you want that because, you know, especially you don't want to have to pay for school if you're not happy with the public school. But for me, I need to be close to an airport. Yeah, you know. It's just for your business. I have to consider also how quickly can I get in and out. Yeah.

Yeah. And, you know, I will say, don't underestimate the resilience of your kids. Because I, my career, after I left corporate America and started coaching, coaches move all the time. And we moved a lot. and the first move was really hard on my two older kids because they were about, well, the oldest was about to go in the high school and he wanted to go to Whitney Young where she went and we moved to Providence.

And it was hard on him and hard on our daughter. But then once we moved the first time, it made it easier to move the next time and then the next time and it became easier. And what we stayed focused on was trying to move somewhere where we could build a community. But we were our community. We wanted to make sure we knew we would all be together in this. And we had the ability to make a community wherever we went.

So don't, I would say to Joanna, I don't underestimate the resiliency. I know you're not talking about moving around a lot, but your kids will be okay as long as they're safe. They'll be okay. They'll be able to bounce back quicker than we can. And just make sure you check that predator website too. Don't just throw that out there.

That's a good point. It's a good point, Manda. Forget the school district. I'm just saying. Make sure there are no predators. Well, thank you. Hopefully that was Lisa. Joanna.

Joanna. I'm sorry. Joanna. That's okay. Joanna, girl. Hope that helped you. It also happens when you get older, Crystal. Right.

It is gas and then there's general forgetting of everything. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yes. Wanda. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you for putting us on your dance cards. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Love you. I'm done now.

I'm done now. Huge fans. We are big fans. Yeah. We are big fans. Well, the legacy is going to be well-received. People will love it. And by the time this comes out,

hopefully everybody's seeing it and commenting about it and all that. And then watch Undercard. Yes. It's really a beautiful film. Thank you. Coming out on somewhere where things stream. Or anywhere where you stream.

Thank you for being here. Thank you. Thanks for having. Thank you so much. Again, to our friends at Progressive Insurance for sponsoring this episode. For more information, visit progressive.com slash open the house.