The comedian, actress, writer and disability advocate performed a stand-up set in Whitley Auditorium on March 27.
Members of the Elon community filled the Whitley Auditorium on March 27 to hear from comedian Maysoon Zayid, an event made possible by the Elon Liberal Arts Forum – a student organization that brings guest speakers to campus.
“Each semester, students in the forum vote together on hosting speakers they believe will spark important discussion and debate,” said Heather Shevach ’25, a member of the forum. “All are welcome to attend our meetings to continue the conversation.”
As a comedian, actress, writer and disability advocate living with cerebral palsy, Zayid discussed important topics facing our world today while incorporating her own sense of humor to the discussion.
“It is becoming progressively scarier to be disabled in this country right now,” Zayid explained. “Which is why we need more positive images of disability than ever.”
She went on to emphasize the importance of disability representation in the media, and even began to share some of her own experiences with discrimination during her time as a theater major at Arizona State University
“My senior year, the perfect thing happened,” she said. “Arizona State decided to do a show about a girl with cerebral palsy. I’m thinking, ‘I’m a girl with cerebral palsy!’ And I still didn’t get the part.”
She delved into how this incident personally affected her, and how representation remains a problem on a global scale today.
“Hollywood, to this day, shuns disability,” Zayid said. “The message that is being sent to the community is that, ‘You don’t belong.’”
She pointed out the part that students can play to help break this recurring stigma.
“Some of you are future filmmakers!” she said. “And if you’re writing a piece that doesn’t have anybody who identifies as disabled in it, you’re making a big mistake. Because we are 25% of the population. One in three American households has a disabled person in it. We’re a good market.”
Additionally, she discussed the way in which she has handled comments from strangers after her internet success, some of which included hateful remarks.
“These comments online were really affecting me. I remember the moment so clearly when I finally went to myself, ‘Am I going to let some stranger I’ve never met before derail my dream that I’ve been working on for an entire decade? No way!’”
Zayid left the crowd with a positive note of encouragement for students: follow their passions.
“Whoever you want to be, be that person,” Zayid said. “People don’t cheer for you? You don’t need them. It is so much better to be solitary and proud than to be in a crowd and ashamed.”
Maysoon Zayid’s website features her social media accounts, upcoming performances and personal biography.