Shirley Q. Liquor
Shirley Q. Liquor is a satirical persona created by Lexington, Kentucky resident, Chuck Knipp.
Knipp portrays "Shirley Q." as an ignorant, sharp-witted African American woman, performing in shabby drag and blackface. In addition to live performances, Knipp has produced several spoken-word CDs.
Knipp's "Daily Ignunce" morning radio routine, usually 90 seconds long, is syndicated and heard on primarily southern radio stations in the United States. Knipp has performed with Tracy Morgan, formerly of Saturday Night Live. He had also appeared on a RuPaul CD, introducing several of the musical selections.
Character
Shirley owns a 1972 turquoise El Dorado Cadillac "Sammy Davis Jr. edition." Although financially troubled, it's been implied she does have a somewhat solid education, having attended Percy Champlain Jr. High and George Wallace High School in Orange, Texas, which she lovingly refers to and spells as "Urange." Throughout some of her rants and raves, it is also implied she still resides there. An alcoholic, she often finds herself in legal trouble. She was abandoned by her husband Percy Q. Liquor in 1973 ("in the middle of an episode of 'The Jeffersons'"). Her Maw-Maw lives in the attic of her house. She has a sister named Barbara Q. Liquor. Her cat, which needs to get "sprayed" is named Shameqa.
Shirley is the mother of many children; it has been said that she has 19 children, although her song "Who Is My Baby Daddy?" (a parody of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire"), references an astounding forty-seven children:
"Cheeto, Limbo, Cracker Jack, Orangejello (pronounced uh-ron-gel-o),
K-Martina, Salmonella, Velveeta, Genitalia,
Catfish (pronounced Catfeesh), Leroy, Coco Puff, Pluto,
Penelope, Jack Daniels, Buford, Lemonjello (pronounced luh-mon-gel-o),
Aloe Vera, Maybelline, Gingivitis, Brylcreem,
Cru-ex, Nyquil, Gangster-Q, Daffodil,
Ron Bacardi, Captain Morgan, Democtorius, Delorean,
GyneLotrimin, Felicia, Chlamydia, Champagne,
Nova Scotia, Bubblicious, Couponita, Gonhorrea,
Ice Bucket, Buttuglia, Visine, Margarita,
Percolator, Terminator, Velcro, Tae Kwon Do,
Veracello, Chromosone, Obstetricia, and Shi'Thead (pronounced Sha-theed)."
In other skits, she makes mention of children named Lincoln, Fallopia, Temptatia, Vonqueesha, Saskatoon, Deflonequiyana, and Skukeisha.
Ms. Liquor attends Mount Holy Olive Second Baptist Zion Church of God in Christ of Resurrected Latter-Days AME CME (a comical stereotype of African-American churches). She can be heard making constant notice of the loud-colored hats worn therein and spreading the usual church gossip. She also references the Macademia Jubilation Congregation and the Reese's Peanut Butter Choir. On a few skits, she refers to herself as The Reverend Doctor Shirley Q. Liquor.
She has held down several jobs, including telemarketer, movie theatre employee, food service employee at the Shrimp Shack, hotel switchboard operator, presenter at a planetarium, radio announcer, flight attendant for Ebonics Airways, and volunteer at a nursing home. When not working, she enjoys hanging out at "K-Mark" and "Wal-Mark."
Her best friend is the seven-foot-tall, 400 pound Watusi Jenkins, who struggles with mental illness and needs to get "her head shocked" on a regular basis. Jenkins is a fan of Barry White as well as soap operas, which she refers to as "stories". She is a fan of cold malt liquor and menthol cigarettes. Jenkins usually appears in "Happy Hour" skits which mimic a radio broadcast.
Most recently Shirley Q. Liquor made an appearance in cartoon form on the pilot episode of Laugh Out. Laugh Out is the world's first interactive, gay-themed comedy show.
Betty Butterfield
Knipp spun off a new character in 2003: "Betty Butterfield" a large southern white woman in search of a church. Butterfield's character was first referenced in a Shirley Q Liquor skit entitled "Telemarketing" in which Liquor mimics the sound of a white woman answering the phone: "m'hello?"
This greeting would become the trademark of Butterfield's routine. Unlike most Liquor skits, which are audio, virtually all of the Butterfield skits are in the Quicktime video format.
Controversy
In 2002, protesters picketed a sold out New York City performance, protesting Knipp's performance as ignorant and/or misogynist. Knipp concedes that the performance is offensive, but claims a wide fanbase. Knipp has said on many occasion that his show is about "lancing the boil of institutionized racism" and that "treating African Americans as if they have a disease is the real racism" because black people are "more than intelligent enough to discern the nuance" of his performances.
However, the performances have often been taken as racist propaganda by activists. Knipp has said "many people thought that Harriet Beecher-Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was and still is perceived as racist, despite being the probable artistic genesis of emotional support against slavery in the 19th century."