Many reporters — even those typically associated with left-leaning media outlets — were left shocked and aghast at comedian Michelle Wolf’s bizarre and mean-spirited White House Correspondents’ Dinner monologue, after the feminist joked about abortion, CNN’s Jake Tapper, and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ weight and appearance as Sanders looked on from her seat at the head table.
Wolf, looking straight at Sanders, said she was “excited” that Sanders “was finally able to go to prom,” and then excoriated the press secretary for her makeup, choice of outfit, and weight. “She burns facts & 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,” Wolf said as Sanders looked on.
How very feminist, right?
Although the joke appeared to earn Wolf the respect of figures like CNN’s Brian Stelter, and progressive icon Joan Walsh — who compared the incident to Stephen Colbert’s 2005 “roast” of then-President George W. Bush without understanding that to be a “roast” the subject has to be in on the joke — most WHCD attendees were turned off by Wolf’s nastiness, even those reporters for whom Trump is a top target.
I wrote this week about the decency deficit,citing Sarah Huckabee Sanders. I was not at WHCD last night but sounds like the decency deficit was on full display in criticism of her. Attacks on looks have no place. They are not funny.
— Ruth Marcus (@RuthMarcus) 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
