Famous actor and comedian Marlon Wayans said he struggled with the loss of an overwhelming number of loved ones, and had to dig deep to find a way to get past the grief.
The 51-year-old told The New York Times he threw himself into the creation of his upcoming special, “Good Grief,” which proved instrumental.
“I rescued myself from depression by learning to laugh in my worst circumstances,” Wayans told the outlet. “I lost 58 people that I loved in a matter of three years. It felt, like, biblical.”
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Wayans told The New York Times that his parents, Howell Stouten and Elvira Alethia, were among those he had lost in such a short period of time. Alethia died at the age of 81 in July 2020 and Stouten died at the age of 86 in April 2023. The profound loss became too much for Wayans to bear.
“Losing my parents broke me, and I’m telling the audience, Here’s how you can survive this: Find humor in everything,” he said in the interview.
His fourth comedy special was born from the pain caused by the loss of his loved ones.
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“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 The New York Times.
The famous actor spoke of how deeply he was impacted by losing both of his parents.
“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,” the famous actor continued. “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.”
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“It shattered me into a million pieces,” Wayans told The New York Times of his mothers death, adding, “That was my girl.”
The close bond he shared with his mother was fully highlighted when he recalled, “I never got married, because I never wanted my mother to be jealous of a woman. I never wanted my mother to feel second to any woman.”
Wayans said losing his friend, Chadwick Boseman, “was a hard one,” and he reflected on what it was like to lose Boseman to colon cancer in 2020 in the interview.
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“It’s crazy when you think about how many people have passed,” he said in the interview.
“That’s what made me do this special. We need to laugh about it. I needed therapy, and it was therapy for me. I still hurt, but man,” he told The New York Times. (RELATED: ‘I Wish I Could’ve Known My Dad’: Kurt Cobain’s Daughter Posts Heartbreaking Message On 30th Anniversary Of His Death)
“Good Grief” will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, June 4.