Whether you know it or not, May is Mental Health Awareness Month and in a new interview actor and comedian Marlon Wayans is opening up about his struggles.
His transparency is on full display in a cover interview with the New York Times where he revealed the sad fact that he fell into a depression following the deaths of his parents. Those hard deaths also came on the heels of losing nearly 60 people close to him in a matter of three years.
“When you talk about real-life pain, like parents passing, and you can get through that set and you can still be irreverent, edgy, crazy, silly, thought-provoking, and vulnerable, I think that’s growth,” Wayans told NYT.
He added:
“I miss my parents dearly, but I’m a different human with my parents gone than I was when they were here. Now I’m a man. I don’t have parents anymore, so I live differently. I understand the quality of life. I pray more, because when I pray I feel like I’m speaking to my parents and that they’re listening. I let them know what’s going on.”
Thankfully, the grief he experienced isn’t so bad that he’s stuck. In fact, the comedian has been able to find positivity and even laughter in his pain as he’s gearing up for the release of his new comedy special, “Good Grief,” which is set to premiere this summer on June 4 on Prime Video.
Taped at the iconic Apollo Theater in Harlem, the special will see Wayans talk about the impact of losing both parents as well as topics like “how his father taught him to be a man, the requirements to join the ‘Dead Mama Club,’ the surprises you encounter when changing your aging parents’ diapers, who is the funniest Wayans, and more,” per Deadline.
As previously reported by The Root, Wayans posted a heartfelt tribute in honor of his father’ Howell Wayans’ passing in April 2023. His mother, Elvira Wayans passed during the pandemic on July 2020.