KINGSTON, R.I. — September 28, 2020 — Maysoon Zayid, actress, comedian, writer and disability advocate known for having the most-viewed TED Talk of 2014, will give a lecture Tuesday Sept. 29 as part of the University of Rhode Island Honors Colloquium, “Disability in the 21st Century.”

The lecture, “Disability and Entertainment” will take place virtually next Tuesday at 7 p.m. The link to the lecture can be found on the day of the lecture in the colloquium schedule next to Zayid’s name.

Zayid is a graduate of Arizona State University, where she is also a guest comedian in residence. She has also performed extensively across the U.S. and internationally, and was a headlined performer on the “Arabs Gone Wild Comedy Tour” and “The Muslims Are Coming Tour.” She is the co-founder and co-executive producer of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and The Muslim Funny Fest, and was a full-time ‘on air contributor’ to Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

In addition to her comedy and activism efforts, Zayid is an actress and a writer. Zayid has appeared on In Deep Shift, 60 Minutes, and ABC News. She has written for VICE and is a columnist for the Daily Beast. She walked in New York Fashion Week, is a recurring character on General Hospital, and is the author of Audible’s Find Another Dream. She appeared alongside Adam Sandler in You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, and was named 1 of 100 Women of 2015 by BBC.

Zayid’s lecture is co-sponsored by the Honors Program and the Multicultural Student Services Center.

Lauren Poirier, an intern in the Marketing and Communications Department at URI and public relations and English major, wrote this press release.