Michelle Wolf’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner Jokes Infuriate the Media: ‘Disgrace,’ ‘Cruel,’ ‘Unfunny’

Michelle Wolf's White House Correspondents' Dinner Jokes Infuriate the Media: 'Disgrace,' 'Cruel,' 'Unfunny'

But the former "Daily Show" correspondent gets support from other comedians, journalists and some Hollywood stars.

Comedian Michelle Wolf served as host and resident roaster at the White House Correspondents' Dinner Saturday night, and she sent spirited barbs flying all over the room, with many of them hitting White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. She also blamed the media itself for creating Donald Trump, and claimed they were both complaining about and profiting off of him.

"You guys are obsessed with Trump," she told the assembled reporters. "You helped create this monster, and now you're profiting off of him. And if you're going to profit off of Trump, you should at least give him some money, because he doesn't have any."

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Her appearance proved to be one of the more controversial WHCD sets in recent memory, with everyone on the right and people across the media upset with her commentary. In particular, Wolf got a lot of grief for some of her jokes about Sanders.

At one point, she said, "I actually really like Sarah. I think she's very resourceful. She burns facts and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smokey eye." Many critics took this as an insult on Sanders' appearance, but we don't think it was, and neither does Wolf.

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

Below are some of the harshest tweets against Wolf from the worlds of politics and the media, followed by those who were willing to step up and defend her, with some arguing that Donald Trump does and has said things just as bad, if not worse.

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

The WHCD was supposed to celebrate the 1st Amendment. Instead they celebrated bullying, vulgarity, and hate. They got all dressed up so they would look nicer when they had a hired gun savagely attack their guests. Do they really wonder why America has no respect for them? Sad!

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) April 29, 2018

Tonight’s #WHCD was a disgrace

— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) April 29, 2018

Women who use their government positions to spread lies and misinformation deserve to face the same withering criticism as men. But leave our looks out of it. Watching from home, I hurt for Sarah, her husband and her children.

— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) April 29, 2018

Watching a wife and mother be humiliated on national television for her looks is deplorable. I have experienced insults about my appearance from the president. All women have a duty to unite when these attacks happen and the WHCA owes Sarah an apology.

— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) April 29, 2018

Michelle Wolf is about as funny as stomach cancer. My goodness.

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 29, 2018

Hateful and unfunny.
Mocking a woman for her appearance? I guess that counts as woke now—just as long as she isn’t progeessive. Or thin. https://t.co/FjgeIcc79J

— Terry Moran (@TerryMoran) April 29, 2018

Wolf’s tasteless routine at the #WHCD is exactly why America hates the out-of-touch leftist media and Hollywood elites. That was disgusting, classless, and not even remotely funny. @PressSec, keep up the good work.

— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) April 29, 2018

Couldn’t agree more. So much important and amazing journalism this year — that should be the focus, when truth matters and is needed more than ever. It was an embarrassment in the room and surely to the audience at home. https://t.co/vhbnG6tn55

— Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) April 29, 2018

Unfortunately, I don't think we advanced the cause of journalism tonight.

— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) April 29, 2018

If the #WHCD dinner did anything tonight, it made the chasm between journalists and those who don't trust us, even wider. And those of us based in the red states who work hard every day to prove our objectivity will have to deal with it.

— Meg Kinnard (@MegKinnardAP) April 29, 2018

The spirit of the event had always been jokes that singe but don’t burn. Reporters who work with her daily appreciate that @presssec was there. https://t.co/PorH9jGJ7G

— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) April 29, 2018

Michelle Wolf didn’t fail just because she was (spectacularly) one-sided. It was because she was unnecessarily cruel on a night the WHCA was trying to showcase decency and purpose.
Undermined an otherwise meaningful night.

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) April 29, 2018

That @PressSec sat and absorbed intense criticism of her physical appearance, her job performance, and so forth, instead of walking out, on national television, was impressive.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 29, 2018

Dear @PressSec – it took a lot of dignity, guts, and class to sit through what you did tonight. You personified professionalism. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/4XsjCx8DQB

— Brad Thor (@BradThor) April 29, 2018

Boy, am I glad I spent the evening with my kids and friends. This #WHCD “comedian” is a complete disgrace. The Left’s intolerance and mean-spiritedness knows no bounds. https://t.co/fKSpDMGULT

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) April 29, 2018

I am glad I did not go to this dinner and I blame #WHCA for its bad manners as it knew this would happen w/ the comedian they hired – this is not humor. @margarettalev https://t.co/aWsn6QQIp8

— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) April 29, 2018

#WHCD
What a disgrace!
A totally disrespectful “comedy” act. Degrading the office of POTUS then criticizing Press Sec Sanders physical appearance, more.
No wonder @realDonaldTrump chooses to be with real Americans instead of these self absorbed media fools. #MAGA 🇺🇸

— Eric Bolling (@ericbolling) April 29, 2018

DEFENDERS

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

I asked @maggieNYT to quote the line where Michelle intensely criticized SHS’s appearance. She unfollowed me.
She has an extremely important job. Making vague statements that she herself cannot back up with facts/quotes isn’t helping.

— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) April 29, 2018

My question to Paris Dennard after Michelle Wolf’s performance at last night’s #WHCD: “Why do you hold a comedian to a higher standard than you do the president of the United States of America?” pic.twitter.com/ObcXq0ELB1

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) April 29, 2018

honestly the only thing that would offend me about a comic invited to #whcd is if he/she didn’t push the envelope in an attempt to make every powerful person and media personality in the room laugh but also relentlessly uncomfortable. That’s the gig, or at least it should be…

— Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) April 29, 2018

WARNING:
If you’re outraged about @michelleisawolf telling jokes at the #WHCD, but not about @POTUS telling lies at his pep rally, call your doctor immediately.

— andy lassner (@andylassner) April 29, 2018

Kudos to @michelleisawolf for making the #WHCD circle jerk as painful and awkward is it deserved to be.

— Anthony Bourdain (@Bourdain) April 29, 2018

.@TIFFANYDCROSS: I find it laughable that we’re sitting here dissecting what Michelle Wolf said & pointing to her as though she’s the problem & not the administration… If you look at #Trump's Twitter feed & don’t clutch your pearls… it seems very hypocritical… #AMJoy #WHCD pic.twitter.com/6lY07CI17Q

— AM Joy w/Joy Reid (@amjoyshow) April 29, 2018

The more I think about it, the more impressed I am that Michelle Wolf did such a harsh act WITHOUT insulting any woman's looks. She aimed straight at the white female enforcers & never once suggested that anyone was a bimbo or a dog—like the man they work for surely would have.

— Emily Nussbaum (@emilynussbaum) April 29, 2018

Whatever one might think of Michelle Wolf's performance, it's clear that anyone who works for or supports Trump has no basis for complaining about vulgarity or personal insults. Your house is made of very thin glass.

— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) April 29, 2018

ACCEPTABLE: Making fun of disabled journalists, making fun of the appearance of female candidates, saying the Paralympics are hard to watch, Mexicans are rapists, one’s own daughter is sexually attractive, countries are shitholes
UNACCEPTABLE: Sarah Huckabee Sanders wears makeup

— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) April 29, 2018

there is a discussion about a dinner celebrating the first amendment- questioning the brilliant job done by michelle wolf – “VULGAR”? what the fuck people – crass – its a roast- TRUTH TELLING IS REQUIRED – she aint the problem – best line of the night “probably lies” #AMJoy

— ROSIE (@Rosie) April 29, 2018

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