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Editor's Note: This article contains spoilers.
With a career spanning over 30 years, Sommore is one of the original Queens of Comedy still gracing the stage. Marking her 6th executive-produced special, Sommore is "Queen Chandelier" partnering with Netflix for its February release.
Wearing bonnets in public, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the skepticism of Uber drivers are just a few of the topics she alluded to in her many jokes.
Sommore even shed light on the gap between modern youth and adults on the topic of gender expression. Though comical, they were not as controversial as her takes on Zaya Wade and the younger transgender community.
"Hashtag girl dad was such a big movement, Dwayne Wade and his son got in on some of the action," Sommore said. Referring to #GirlDad, a trend that erupted through social media amid the death of world-renowned professional basketball player Kobe Bryant.
The joke ironically attained the audiences' laughter, notwithstanding the fact that Zaya Wade was recently granted an official gender change and new birth certificate. As we previously reported, the change was certified earlier this week by way of a Los Angeles Superior Court.
Perspectives on gender identification can differ greatly, much of the division is evident in not only the real world, but online spaces as well. Queen Chandelier provided her own rendition by splitting the web into two parts: the internet and the N*gga net. N*gga net refers to social media interactions and spaces occupied by solely the black community.
"The internet was accepting of the fact that the little boy wanted to express his-self by dressing like a woman", Sommore said in reference to the initial announcement of Zaya Wade identifying as transgender in 2020.
"Now the n*gga net had a problem.. someone on the n*gga net said the little boy wanted to have a sex change." She later gave a take on Boosie asking Dwyane Wade to not move forward with a sex change.
While acknowledging Zaya never asked for a sexual reassignment surgery, Sommore was quick to commend the fearlessness of today's youth in the realms of gender identity; a "brave new world" she called it. "We are embarking on a society that is giving voice to children, I'm not saying it's good or bad but it's new," she noted.
She gave her final opinion on the matter saying, "I want young people to know this...you must respect the difference in knowledge and wisdom."
Every time Sommore spoke of Zaya she unequivocally misgendered her with incorrect pronouns.
The word misgender is a modern term quickly entering school and workplaces as gender identification becomes more accepted throughout society. The vernacular of this type including multiple gender and sex identities is more respective to the younger members of society. Those who are older are far more likely to be ignorant of these terms. It may not always allude to hate or unacceptance, but sometimes the lack of education.
Whether or not the queen of comedy was aware of her misrepresentation of Zaya, it shows how far we have come in society; and the long, divided, and uncertain road ahead.