CNN
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Amanda Seales did not perform during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The actress and comedian told CNN she’s serious about quarantine and isn’t even considering filming with her stand-up show to protect herself and her audience.
During that time, she said, she just wasn’t feeling the comedy.
“I was kind of sitting around for two years,” she said. “I’ve always been a conscious person, but I’ve become a more politicized person in the last two years. And there was just this chemical reaction about five months ago where it was like the politicization and then the comedy in me collided, and it felt like I had to get back on stage so I could talk about all these *** bulls I’m watching.”
The result is her “Black Outside Again” tour, where she brings her passion for comedy and social justice to the stage. Seales said she waited for safety measures and progress to be made that reduced the chances of contracting Covid and dealing with “a life-threatening situation” before returning to tour.
“I jumped at the chance to say, ‘Okay, let’s go back outside and be black out,'” Seales said. “Because having a community is its own therapy that we have to have.”
Best known for her role as Tiffany DuBois on HBO’s “Insecure,” Seales’ first stand-up special, “I Be Knowin,” was released in 2019. (HBO and CNN are both part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
The world has changed a lot since then.
“Oh, we’re in hell,” Seales deadpans when asked where she thinks we are politically.
“We look at so many politicians who want to be rock stars or Jesus,” she said. “It really forces us as citizens to open our eyes and say, ‘What am I going to do to regain control of the destiny of my life?’ And I don’t think people really understand that.
In response to what she sees as widespread apathy, she arranged for voters to sign up for her shows and for community activists from every city to take the stage.
“It’s something that I really try to convey to people on stage through comedy and humor,” she said. “For example, you have more power than you give yourself because they tricked us into thinking we are powerless.”
But her show isn’t just about politics, she said.
“I talk about dating, I talk about relationships, I talk about my mom, I talk about my childhood,” Seales said. “So there are, of course, other things going on.”
Seales has several North American tour dates through December.