Former Daily Show correspondent Michelle Wolf became a household name overnight after she was enlisted to speak at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, April 28.
During her 19-minute roast, Wolf referenced President Donald Trump’s alleged dalliances with porn stars and dubbed his daughter Ivanka as “helpful to women as an empty box of tampons.” The 32-year-old comedian also targeted Vice President Mike Pence, calling him a “weird little guy,” and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
“I have to say I’m a little star-struck,” Wolf quipped, glancing over at Sanders. “I love you as Aunt Lydia in The Handmaid’s Tale.” (The writer was referring to a loathsome character on the Hulu hit show who teaches young women to become servants.)
White House Correspondents Association President Margaret Talev was not laughing. “Last night’s program was meant to offer a unifying message about our common commitment to a vigorous and free press while honoring civility, great reporting and sponsorship winners, not to divide people,” wrote Talev in a statement. “Unfortunately, the entertainer’s monologue was not in the spirit of that mission.”
Wolf’s performance received mixed reviews. In a Sunday, April 29, tweet, President Trump, who did not attend the event, said that Wolf’s remarks were “filthy” and dubbed the dinner an “embarrassment.”
MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell tweeted that an “apology is owed to @PressSec and others grossly insulted” by Wolf. Replied Chrissy Teigen: “After everything this administration has said and done to the American people with no apology? are you f—king kidding me???? This has to be a joke.” Jane Lynch added, “Nope. No apology. Our house is on FIRE.”
Sarah Silverman, meanwhile, called Wolf’s monologue “brilliant,” while Silicon Valley actor Kumail Nanjiani pointed out the hypocrisy of certain politicians. “They call you liars. They call Mexicans rapists. They call Muslims murderers. They support supremacists. But someone calls them out on what they do, & suddenly they’re heroes for walking out.”
Wolf’s Netflix show The Break premieres May 27.
