Actor Comedian and Writer Chaunte Wayans Talks About Visibility In The LGBTQ Community With Q26
Chaunte Wayans is an actor, comedian, writer, and editor. She hosts the #TBT Podcast that gets put out on Mondays. She stars in the Netflix Special, "They Ready," which is currently streaming. Jasmine D. Lowe, the Managing Editor at Q26, got the chance to interview her over the phone.
Chaunte Wayans
Jasmine D. Lowe: What led you specifically to decide to pursue a career in comedy and entertainment?
Chaunte Wayans: Well, as for me, you know my family has been in it, and growing up, I got to see them become famous. For a long time, I didn't even want to be in the film industry. I was a theater geek, and then I moved to California. I was like a cool introvert. Like, I was cool with people, but also weird in my own way. So, I wouldn't necessarily speak up for myself all of the time, when it came to that, and the color of my skin. I would speak out once it builds, but I wasn't that person.
When I moved out to Cali, I got to work behind the scenes. I was still doing computer stuff, but I still wasn't satisfied. One night I attended a comedy show, and I would end up going home and thinking about these jokes all night. I went back and got on stage at the open mic. That was the start of this new awakening because it showed me, I was able to get my voice out without anybody telling me to change it necessarily, or even if they said it, I didn't have to. It was the only thing that I felt I could really control except people's opinions. It became a voice for me. It became a place of therapy and just to get shit out.
Comedy comes from pain, so it just opened that world up. I just kept to myself. I still got people that were like you shouldn't dress like that. You should not talk about those topics, and so on. I have always been a firm believer in change, so you can try to change the game. With that being said, even if I get my Netflix special or be successful the way I wanted to, at least I put the bug out to try to break that door down. So all the years that I was doing it, I knew people who were in the LGBT community, but they wouldn't say anything about it, which was fine, and then they started speaking about an onstage. Now we're living in a world where the LGBT community is fighting for their rights, and these topics and visibility are more accessible than ever. I think back and think, imagine if I've never tried to stay true to my core?
Jasmine: I feel as though comedy has changed within the last like 20 years pretty drastically. There's this pivot point where people are still expressing themselves the way that they want to, but it's becoming more inclusive. What do you think are the reasons why so many people are comfortable doing that now?
Chaunte: I feel like in life, it became more open, and more people started coming out. I feel like it became a trend at some point, and when I say trend, I mean the direction we were headed in. The trend was needed, and it made it okay for more people to come out. In the industry, I think the more people that started opening up about how they really feel who they want to be, it started opening up the field for other people, and a lot of people who were actually controlling these things are in that light too. It's been hard for everybody to come out, but once everyone came out and people had to deal with it, it became more comfortable to talk about over time. It became, we've got to fight for our rights, and we're going to do this. The more people opened up about it, and the more people felt as though they didn't have to hide in the closet anymore, the better it made us feel. When it comes to standup, you want to be humble, and you want to be open to your thoughts, and when you're free to do that, everybody can accept you or what you're saying.
Jasmine: You write you have tried a lot of different projects, been on various television shows, and in films. What do you have planned for the future? Where could you see yourself in five or ten years?
Chaunte: I'm developing a TV show right now, and I see my voice getting out there more, but really where I see myself is being settled. I feel like my goals have changed a lot, so I'm trying to go on with how I feel mentally and where's my happy place. I love the industry. I love to be a leading voice, but I also love kids, and I believe in this new generation coming up, and so I definitely want to put my hands in a field where I could be a mentor to them and help that change.
Jasmine: That actually leads to my next question. What advice do you have for young queer people, especially those of color, who want to become artists and share their creative passions in the world as you do?
Chaunte: You have to love yourself. I think that's a big part of being able to maintain in this industry and the world in general. I think I can say that it involves believing in yourself, understanding, and believing in your art, whatever that is. People won't ever know if this is supposed to be in their world or not unless you express it. Even if it's not for the people, it's an expression, and you have to get that out. You bottle everything up, and it's pretty much a way to disaster for yourself. So, keep your work ethic and believing in yourself. Love yourself, push forward every time, because the person you think your favorite celebrity is right now, whoever you admire, we have all went through the same shit. These people you admire paved the way for you to open up and show your voice. So don't give up, and keep going. We have social media now, which is huge because you don't have people who can tell you, no, anymore. You can do your own shit.
Chaunte's Netflix Special "They Ready" is now streaming. You can also follow her work by visiting her website, cwayans.com, follow her on Instagram @cwayans, and watch her host the House Arrest Tour on Facebook at facebook.com/cwayans.
Read the print version of this article and other stories by downloading a copy of QTYPE’s summer issue!