Sommore is 52. Leslie Jones is 51. While Jones broke out as a star as the oldest cast member ever hired by Saturday Night Live four years ago, you haven’t seen much of Sommore onscreen outside of her stand-up comedy. The difference is that Chris Rock vouched for Jones with Lorne Michaels after putting her in his movie, Top Five. Ain’t nobody vouching for Sommore but herself and the thousands of fans who come out to see her on tour, year after year, for the last 25 years.
And a full 17 years since co-starring in the concert film The Queens of Comedy with Mo’Nique, Sommore not only continues to embrace the brand, but has herself introduced in her new Showtime special A Queen With No Spades as “the undisputed queen of comedy.” She also calls herself a chandelier instead of a star or a celebrity, and in this hour elaborates on the light fixture’s uniqueness: “I’m not afraid to have my own thoughts. The chandelier is the one object in the room that doesn’t have to match anything.”