Former California State Assemblymember, LGBTQ+ activist, and stand-up comic Tom Ammiano was the first individual ever to be featured on the cover of the San Francisco Bay Times. That was back in 1978, and he is still going strong and giving others hope—and laughs—during a time of right-wing-fueled cancel culture. He says, “The more s–t you give us, the stronger we get. And every good comic will take any kind of adversity and turn it into comic gold.”
As Ammiano suggests, the more authoritarian a government is, the more risks comedians may have to take. That has been true since at least the Roman Era, when comics and other performers faced punishment depending on the nature of their work and the political climate of the time. Early Roman law from around 450 BCE included harsh punishments for libel and slander. This was during a period, though, when women could be jailed for crying at a funeral, people could be punished by death for wearing purple (a color reserved for the emperor), and laws governed where people had to sit at a banquet, depending on social status.
And yet it seems like, over 2000 years later, we are collectively regressing in terms of personal liberties. The brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk by what appears to have been a single deranged individual on September 10, 2025, has given rise to a right-wing cancel culture once primarily associated with foreign dictatorships. As part of this onslaught, popular comic hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel are both facing severe career repercussions after speaking out against the Trump administration and the MAGA movement.
Fellow comic Jon Stewart offers perspective: “Comedy doesn’t change the world, but it’s a bellwether. We’re the banana peel in the coal mine. When a society is under threat, comedians are the ones who get sent away first.”
Both the far-left and the far-right have, especially in recent years, battled to control “free speech.” Cutting through this have been brave comics, offering insights through satire and using humor to engage, challenge, and connect people at fundamental levels. As LGBTQ+ Bay Area comics demonstrate, humor has the ability to address serious issues while disarming tension and fostering social bonds, making it a force for mental, social, and political change.
Here are just some of these local talents:
Amy Boyd
Boyd “combines the physical comedy of Dick Van Dyke with the fearless character work of Melissa McCarthy.” She says, “I live for the in-person, shared experience and there’s nothing like a darkened room full of strangers feeling something at the same time.” https://bit.ly/47UXiWm
Scott Capurro
A local comedy legend for decades, Capurro is also nationally known for his comic prowess and memorable film roles such as playing the make-up man (“Aunt Jack”) for Robin Williams’ lead character in Mrs. Doubtfire and “Beed” in a Star Wars film and video game. https://scottcapurro.com/
Wonder Dave
Wonder Dave has toured the country performing at comedy clubs, colleges, cabarets, comic and science fiction conventions, burlesque shows, theaters, strip clubs … and bowling alleys. Wonder Dave also hosts and produ- ces the Safe Words Showcase – Queer Sex Positive Comedy, SMILF – Straight Men I’d Like to Friend, and more. https://www.teamwonderdave.com/
Karinda Dobbins
An opener for Dave Chappelle, Trevor Noah, Roy Wood, Jr., Gina Yashere, and others, Dobbins is a stand-up star in her own right. She has performed at comedy festivals across the country including Comedy Central’s Clusterfest, SF Sketchfest, and the Limestone Comedy Festival. https://karindadobbins.com/
Marga Gomez
A playwright, comedian, and actor, Gomez is known for her work in solo theatre and for being one of the first openly lesbian stand-up comics in the nation. She has appeared on LOGO’s One Night Stand Up, Showtime’s Latino Laugh Festival, Comedy Central’s Out There, and HBO’s Comic Relief at the invitation of the late Robin Williams who called her “Amazing … a lesbian Lenny Bruce.” https://www.margagomez.com/
Binya Kóatz
Binya Kóatz is a self-described “Sefardi/Ashki/Moroccan/Argentinean/Ukranian/French trans Jewish torah-lover,” who runs a queer Yeshiva (Shel Maala), performs stand-up comedy (@binya_donethat) and sings and dances with her foremothers. She revels in languages, and can’t believe the radical gay anarchist tradition she’s been tasked with carrying forth. https://bit.ly/46tEOtw
Nebulous Niang
Originally from Singapore, Nebulous Niang now resides in the Bay Area. This queer stand-up offers a unique view as she was once “a ‘happily’ married woman” who left her “miserable marriage,” fell in love with a woman, and came out as a lesbian. She inspires and uplifts audiences by sharing her personal story and struggles. https://bit.ly/3Io9vZe
Karen Ripley
Since the 1970s, Ripley has been one of the Bay Area’s leading queer comedians. She has extensive experience in theater and improv, and is also a teacher—such as having served as the in-house improv educator at the Harvey Milk Institute. https://www.karenripley.com/
DeAnne Smith
Internationally known comedian DeAnne Smith has dual Canadian-U.S. citizenship and has performed at comedy clubs around the Bay Area and world. Their television credits include Last Comic Standing, and The Late Late Show in the U.S., as well as appearances on CBC, ABC, and BBC. They are also the host of the With a Twist comedy show. https://www.deannesmith.com/
Marcus Williams
According to the San Francisco Comedy Competition, “Marcus Williams is a stand-up comedian posing as a structural engineer during business hours. He was a semi-finalist in the 2016 Sacramento Comedy Festival and has performed at the San Francisco Punchline, Cobb’s Comedy Club, all over New York, Denver, and several other locations with a stage and a microphone. He’s funny as hell.” https://bit.ly/48tODKt
The late great Robin Williams was not only a Marga Gomez fan but also a lifelong LGBTQ+ ally. He was a free speech champion too who pushed boundaries during his live performances and took what is essentially the business of not being serious very seriously. It has been over a decade since his passing, but this statement about comedy still rings true: “You look at the world and see how scary it can be sometimes and still try to deal with the fear. Comedy can deal with the fear and still not paralyze you … . You can laugh at [scary things] and then once you’ve laughed at them and you have expunged the demon, now you can deal with them.”
Many also believe Williams was eerily ahead of his time concerning his views about Trump. See what you think, keeping in mind this was filmed in 2012: https://bit.ly/4gJKsM
Comedy, Free Speech, and the ‘Right to Offend’
Published on September 25, 2025
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