Wanda Sykes to
Entertain at White House Dinner

Gay comedian Wanda Sykes, who came out publicly during an anti-Proposition 8 rally in Las Vegas in November, has been chosen to perform at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner May 9. Past entertainers at the prestigious affair have included Stephen Colbert and Rich Little.

Currently acting on the popular sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine, Sykes, 44, is both "scared" and "very excited" about the opportunity to entertain President Barack Obama and some 2,000 other notable personalities, according to the Associated Press.

With the dinner still a few months off, Sykes will be watching President Obama's every move, looking for inspiration for her act. "I'm not rooting against him at all, because, especially in this economy and everything, we need him to succeed," she explains. "But there's gonna be some incidents and missteps, like we saw with the whole tax thing." And it will be those "missteps" that will provide Sykes with the material needed to "poke fun" at the new administration, the President himself included.

As an out lesbian, Sykes is a pioneer among performers who have had the opportunity to entertain such a highly influential political audience. (Shannon Connolly, Advocate.com)