“My name is Maysoon Zayid, and I am not drunk, but the doctor who delivered me was.” That is how Palestinian-American comedian Maysoon Zayid began her presentation to a roomful of men and women this past Wednesday in honor of Women’s History Month. Zayid is many things: a comedian, an actress, an activist, and a Cliffside Park, New Jersey native. She is also someone who lives with cerebral palsy, a condition that affects movement and posture due to damage of the developing brain during or shortly after birth.
Zayid entertained and educated as she sat on a tall, black stool in the front of Babbio 122. She explained that her father lived according to the mantra, “You can do it! Yes you can, can!” Her family’s persistence and her determination paid off, as she is able to walk, a feat that is often very difficult for those living with cerebral palsy.
Unlike today, Zayid grew up during a time before the word “Muslim” was not tainted, before the American Disabilities Act was codified, and before the Internet and social media platforms became “the place where you can say the things you would never say.” She attended Arizona State University when affirmative action policies were implemented in university admission offices across the nation. “My application was basically Willy Wonka’s golden ticket,” she said, referencing her inclusion in multiple minority groups. She was an avid student, excelling in her theater classes. “I got all A’s, and I got all A’s in [my classmates’] classes.” Despite her success, she was not casted, even for a main role that portrayed a girl living with cerebral palsy. “I was told, ‘You can’t do the stunts.’ I said, ‘If can’t do the stunts, neither can the character!’”
Both her disability and her ethnicity proved to be extremely limiting in her acting career, which is when she turned to comedy. She started doing comedy when she was 21. “It was the perfect place for me. It was a place filled with people who didn’t make it in acting.” She was thrilled when, after 10 years of traveling as a comedian, she was invited to become a full-time contributor on “Countdown” with Keith Olbermann.
She admits that her early comedic work was “super vile,” and she didn’t find her voice until she became a touring comic. She started in New York and traveled to places including Palestine and Jordan. It has been said that she is the first person to ever perform standup comedy, however she herself is unsure whether that is true. Wherever she is, she uses humor to “humanize and equalize disability.” Zayid stated that 70% of Americans living with a disability are unemployed and are the most underrepresented in media, TV, and film. “We have a long way to go,” said Zayid.
Her commentary on disability, stereotyping, and social stigma was intermittent with light-hearted humor on topics including her family, marriage, and her cat named Beyonce. As she concluded her presentation, she challenged the audience to think about the importance of words. “Say no to violence on campus. Say no to being an internet troll. And finally, say no to being silent because silence is acceptance.”
The talk ended with a brief Q&A session. One woman asked under what minority group she is most discriminated against: Muslim, female, or disabled. She answered that, up until now, most of the discrimination she faced originated from the fact that she is a woman. “Now, it is being a Muslim. I get death threats daily.” Zayid said that the past three years have been extremely difficult for her. Even after her 2014 TED Talk “I got 99 problems….palsy is just one” received over 11 million hits, even after she has proved her skill as an actor, comedian, and commentator, she has still not been given a chance.
Zayid travels constantly and loves speaking to college students. “[Students] are challenging because they are here for one of two reasons: either they have to or because they have nothing better to do.” She also believes that college students are at the age where they can “understand that our actions have reactions,” something that the Women’s Programs at Stevens strives to illuminate by bringing speakers such as Zayid to campus.
Zayid is married and still resides in Cliffside Park with Beyonce. She co-founded the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival in 2003, which attracts Arab comics, actors, filmmakers, and playwrights from all over the world to come together and increase awareness of the immense talent that originated and currently resides in the Arab-American community. Zayid is also the founder of Maysoon’s Kids, which is an organization that addresses the needs of the growing population of disabled children in Palestine.
