Comedians Defend WHCD Speech: ‘F*ck the Niceties, Michelle Wolf Was Brilliant’
After journalists criticized the comedian for supposedly attacking Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ looks, Michelle Wolf’s comedian friends came to her defense.
Aaron Bernstein / Reuters
That didn’t take long.
Comedian Michelle Wolf had barely left the podium at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday night when the backlash began. CNN’s chyron instantly called her routine “controversial” and journalists like The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman were applauding White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for not walking out of the room when Wolf supposedly joked about her “physical appearance.”
But while the criticism of Wolf’s admittedly risky performance persisted, comedians—including her former Late Night boss Seth Meyers—were quick to come to her defense Sunday morning. And many focused on the fact that Sanders and others in the Trump White House have no leg to stand on when it comes to playing the victim.
Few people go to DC and accomplish what they set out to do while staying true to themselves. @michelleisawolf is one of those people.
— Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) April 29, 2018
There were two speeches last night:
— Robin Thede (@robinthede) April 29, 2018
Michelle Wolf - “Sarah Huckabee Sanders tells lies”
Trump- “Mexico is World War Z and I will shut the country down if Congress doesn’t pay for my wall”
Press Coverage - MICHELLE WOLF IS A MONSTER
This is the moment when people are supposed to call out the madness, cruelty and corruption. Fuck the niceities. @michelleisawolf was brilliant and all her targets deserved it. We have a racist lying President and politicians who support him. No time to soft sell anything. https://t.co/0YiPC2dA9d
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) April 29, 2018
oh the luxury of being offended by good jokes told by someone w/ no political power
— Cameron Esposito (@cameronesposito) April 29, 2018
Instead of the daily idiocy spouted by a man looting the country from within the White House
Good on u @michelleisawolf 👏👏
They’re fucking pathetic. You were great!
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) April 29, 2018
They call you liars. They call Mexicans rapists. They call Muslims murderers. They support white supremacists. But someone calls them out on what they do, & suddenly they’re heroes for not walking out. https://t.co/B9aT7moy2C
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) April 29, 2018
For her part, Wolf not only responded to Haberman, but also to Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, who said she found the comedian’s jokes “deplorable” and compared them to the time President Trump mocked her appearance on Twitter.
Why are you guys making this about Sarah’s looks? I said she burns facts and uses the ash to create a *perfect* smoky eye. I complimented her eye makeup and her ingenuity of materials. https://t.co/slII9TYdYx
— Michelle Wolf (@michelleisawolf) April 29, 2018
“I said she burns facts and uses the ash to create a *perfect* smoky eye,” Wolf replied. “I complimented her eye makeup and her ingenuity of materials.”
And it’s true. The punchline of Wolf’s joke had everything to do with Sanders’ tendency to mislead the press and nothing to do with her appearance. “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s lies,” she said in the speech. “It’s probably lies.”
This:
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) April 29, 2018
“I actually really like Sarah. I think she’s very resourceful. She burns facts and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s lies. It’s probably lies.”
is not, in any way, shape or form, a joke about someone's "looks."
And then there is President Trump himself, who skipped the event for a rally in Washington, Michigan, but decided to weigh in with his review as well on Sunday morning. In his view, the “so-called comedian really ‘bombed.’” He even has an idea for who should host next year: Fox News host Greg Gutfeld.
While Washington, Michigan, was a big success, Washington, D.C., just didn’t work. Everyone is talking about the fact that the White House Correspondents Dinner was a very big, boring bust...the so-called comedian really “bombed.” @greggutfeld should host next year! @PeteHegseth
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 29, 2018
If anything, Wolf proved herself to be the true heir to Stephen Colbert and his infamous 2006 performance in which he took President George W. Bush to task. Like with Wolf, Colbert’s jokes did not always land in the room and caused some serious “controversy” in the time. But history looks kindly upon that night and will likely do the same for Wolf.
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