Julia Louis-Dreyfus was estatic for her friend and colleague Wanda Sykes to perform at the WHCD, but was even more excited about her photo op with Michelle Obama.
Brad Hall, Julia Louis Dreyfus and Ali Wentworth
The White House Correspondents Dinner is now “a Hollywood night,” so says David Letterman friend and comedian Jim Gaffigan. “Having known Wanda for 15 years, it was like, ‘She’s holding back a little bit.’ It’s really interesting to see how that Correspondents’ Dinner has changed since the Colbert thing.”
Read the rest of Gaffigan’s interview with the WSJ here.
From transcript of “The O’Reilly Factor,” May 12, 2009.
All right. White House Correspondents’ Dinner. My man Miller here actually emceed an event for Bush the elder, and you were pretty tame. I mean, you didn’t go after anybody, did you?
MILLER: Oh, I was scared witless. I mean, you know, I was just a kid trying to make it, and it was Bush 41. I thought Wanda Sykes was kind of funny, for a girl. That’s a joke, Wanda. You know it. That’s all she’s doing today is explaining that. It was a joke. And the way I look at Wanda Sykes, man, I thought he was going to bring Reverend Wright in. So Wanda Sykes seems — that seems like a respite from the sturm und drang. I thought he might do Jeremiah down to do the gig. I thought Wanda was probably eager to please. I mean, you’re a black comedienne, and you’ve got a black president. I mean, can you imagine how much she needed to make him approve of her? So he went for it, and it looks like it worked. He was laughing his butt off, especially at the — you know, the…
O’REILLY: It all went south. Taken from somebody who was there in the front row, and I was. It all went south in the last 10 minutes. The first 15 minutes were fine. But then she got mean. And here’s my question to you. The remarks about Limbaugh, about Sarah Palin, Cheney to some extent — that wasn’t over the top — were mean. And then they flashed to Obama laughing at the meanness. I don’t think that does him any good there, Dennis.
MILLER: Well, listen. Cheney thrives on that stuff. It’s like Dennis Hopper with the mask in “Blue Velvet.” He just eats that stuff up. But I would say this. I don’t think she was a pro that night. You know, a comedian’s judged by somebody whether they’re a pro or a non-pro. I don’t know how funny or funny it wasn’t. But I do know it wasn’t pro, because at some point you get hired, and she didn’t fill the requisite out for what they needed. They needed it to be edgy but to not make it feel weird. Read more…
Wanda Sykes told the WHCInsider Saturday night that she was told not to use the F or N words, but was her comedy routine too tough on Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and others?
“Lost in the frenzy is the more important matter of our thin-skinned intolerance and our reflexive lurch to take offense. We might remind ourselves that it’s always the fanatics who can’t take a joke”, from the last line of Kathleen Parker’s, Washington Post column today.
by Kathleen Parker (Washington Post)
Which is why we probably shouldn’t quarterback a comedian over coffee when she was performing for a crowd primed on cocktails.
That reasonable rule seems not to apply, however, when the venue is the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and one of the revelers happens to be the president of the United States. Whether he laughs, smiles or frowns carries political freight far beyond the moment.
Washington buzz lately has become a buzz saw.
In the days since the correspondents’ dinner, reaction to Barack Obama’s reaction to Wanda Sykes’s one-liners has resembled a confederacy of scolds. What dreary, sensitive wretches we’ve become.
Do I think Sykes was a monument to hilarity? No, but she was funny much of the time. Do I think her now-infamous Rush Limbaugh jokes were over the top? Yeah. That’s a comedian for you. Do I think her performance — and Obama’s apparent amusement — marks the decline of civilization? This is hardly a new development.
I do think we take ourselves far too seriously — and literally.
For those who’ve somehow managed to avoid the controversy, Sykes joked that Limbaugh, whom she compared to Osama bin Laden, might have been the 20th hijacker, but was “just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight.” She also suggested that Rush might be guilty of treason for hoping Obama’s policies fail.
In a final flourish, she said: “Rush Limbaugh, ‘I hope the country fails’ — I hope his kidneys fail, how about that? He needs a waterboarding, that’s what he needs.”
Ho-ho-ho. The audience did not, in fact, roar with laughter, at least not compared to other jokes during the evening. From where I sat, most who laughed were reacting to the outrageousness of the “joke.” Even Sykes acknowledged that she’d gone too far, but noted that we’d be talking about it later. She got that part right. Read more…
D.C. Comedy Pro Richard Siegel Reviewed Sykes Performance for WHCInsider
What is the hardest job in the country? It’s to follow President Obama. Wanda Sykes, grabbed the microphone, commanded the stage; she was bold, not over the top, brash not X-rated, cool, calm, collected and yes, very funny. She stunned the audience numerous times, as people would look around, dressed in their black tie attire, wondering if it was okay to laugh. No subject was out of bounds. Wanda knew how far to go, knew her boundaries, attacked every target, but did not get too racy nor leave any subject alone. Sykes talked about Obama’s nipples when he appears without a shirt, and of course, discussed the “legacy” of Bush, the guest who stayed in your house and got out of town before you noticed that he broke everything.
As I watched Wanda confidently address the country and the journalists, I felt like a proud parent. I have watched Wanda grow from an open mike comedienne and comedy contestant in the 80s to what she is today, a major force in comedy. Her style has changed, as in the early days her sarcasm was one of her most powerful weapons. Tonight, it was her charm, confidence and charisma that stood out.
Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, told WHCInsider that he thought Obama’s speech was great. Steele said he thought the ribbing was “fine and fair.”
And Wanda’s?
“Wanda is Wanda, she comes real and you got to be prepared. But there will be news made later this week, I guarantee you,” said Steele.
Watch Wanda’s routine below.
Uncategorized, WHCD 2009 Guests, Wanda Sykes, Washington Events
Ludacris at the Pre-WHCD Garden Brunch
Rapper and actor Ludacris says he’s looking forward to the big correspondents’ dinner tonight, and, noting that he’s been a longtime fan of Wanda Sykes (tonight’s entertainer), adds that she shouldn’t “hold back… there’s too much seriousness in this town.”
Ludarcis attended the 2006 WHCD, when Stephen Colbert was the evening’s entertainment, and said he’s taking his mom tonight,”kind of an early Mother’s Day present.”
D.C. Comedy Impresario Richard Siegel Hosted First Contest Sykes Entered
Wanda Sykes — the emcee of this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, who is known for her often raw, blush-inducing commentary — has a lot of inquiring minds wondering just how raw her routine might be this Saturday night.
Richard Siegel, veteran producer on the D.C. comedy scene.
One of her biggest fans thinks that, when time comes for her to address her high-powered audience, “she really should tone it down. Audiences here are a lot more conservative generally,” Richard Siegel tells WHCInsider.com. “They don’t like things getting too edgy.”
The longtime producer of the annual “D.C.’s Funniest Celebrity” contest, Siegel knows a little about what kind of comedy works in this town. He’s also known Sykes since the late 1980s, when he was managing a local stand-up comedy contest at the Comedy Cafe, located above a strip club that enforced a dress code. Read more…
Bill Scheft Hails Wanda Sykes as Great Choice for WHCD Entertainment
If the elite gathering of A-list journos, politicos and celebrities that make up the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Bill Scheft, right, on the "Late Show" set with Dave, left.
can’t loosen up when Sykes starts her monologue, it’s likely to get what it deserves, says Scheft, a veteran scribe for “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
“If they take Wanda too seriously, she’s going to let ‘em have it,” Scheft tells WHCInsider. “I’ve know Wanda a long time. She’ll really give it to ‘em, and I think that’s what they need — somebody to yell at ‘em.”
Scheft says that Sykes was a great choice to book for the entertainment, noting that Stephen Colbert — who raised as many hackles as he did laughs with his controversial routine at the 2006 dinner — is altogether different. “Colbert was a character playing a character playing a character at that dinner. He’s very character-oriented. Wanda is much more joke-oriented.” Read more…
Barack Obama is known to prepare his speeches skillfully and, when appropriate, with an occasional shot of humor. Doubtlessly he’ll be working up some good lines for his address to the 2009 WHCD — cracking jokes is part of the tradition. But for Wanda Sykes, the dinner’s entertainment this year, cracking on something — or somebody — just seems to come naturally.
Below are results from a quick Web search for some of her recent one-liners.
To a Los Angeles audience welcoming her with a standing ovation: “Oh, come on, it ain’t like you never seen a black lesbian before.” -The Advocate
On people opposed to gay marriage: “Why do you care that Bob and Jim are getting married, unless you were planning on [having sex with] Bob or Jim?” -The Advocate
On fame: “I guess because of my act, people think that I say things they want to say, and that they can just come up and say anything to me. That bugs me. But I’d rather have people come up and want to meet me than have them ignore me. It’s just timing. Don’t bother me while I’m eating, or when I’m coming out of the crackhouse or something. Just let me get going.” – The Onion
On random searches at airport security: “There’s nothing random about it. You get to the gate and they’re standing there with their Sherwin-Williams paint chart. If your ass is darker than khaki, you’re getting searched.” -Entertainment Weekly
On President George W. Bush: “Either he’s retarded or he thinks we’re retarded” – The Advocate
Got a favorite Wanda-ism? Maybe from a movie or TV show she’s been in, or maybe you caught her stand-up act and remember one or two that made you really laugh?
Let us know in a comment.
Wanda Sykes
The LA Times fills us in on what Wanda Sykes said she did first, when she agreed to emcee the White House Correspondents Dinner:
“I made sure my taxes were paid,” quipped Sykes, referring to the withdrawal of former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle from Obama’s Cabinet for unpaid taxes.
From The Los Angeles Times blog “The Dish Rag,” by Elizabeth Snead.
Sykes Promotes Her Last AlbumCheck out the WSJ profile of Wanda Sykes in the Weekend section today, which says she’s “trying out Obama jokes” for the White House Correspondents Dinner. During a show before a mostly white, middle-aged audience at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey, the WSJ reports Sykes suggested Obama should have chosen Gov. David Patterson for vice president. “Who’s going to hurt the half-black guy if you’re going to be left with the whole black, blind guy?”
Wanda Sykes, the bawdy-humored comedian who will emcee this year’s White House Correspondents Dinner, has just landed a late-night network talk show on Fox for her often jaundiced, R-rated take on the world.
Starting this fall, Sykes — who once lived near D.C. and whose first job was with the National Security Agency — will enter the white male-dominated landscape of late-night TV talk shows, hosting her own on the Fox broadcast network. The hour-long yakker, as the trade papers like to call talk shows, will be topical, focusing on politics and pop culture and regularly featuring guests as well as spots Sykes will do outside of the studio, according to news reports on April 1 (yes, April Fool’s Day — but Fox confirmed the reports). Read more…
Sick and Tired
Is Washington ready for Wanda? That’s the question posed by Politico style reporter Patrick Gavin over the weekend and one that underscores the incredibly sensitive nature of selecting the “official entertainment” for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner each year.
When it was announced earlier this year that Sykes would be the headliner for the 2009 dinner, it seemed a non-controversial choice on the surface. While traditionally the actress/comedian has not been a politically active force by Hollywood standards, she was vocally opposed to California’s Proposition 8 and it’s fitting symbolism for President Obama’s first major Washington dinner.
But as the event draws nearer, expect the nerves to grow. There’s a thin line between edgy comedy at these events and that which borders on the offensive — either politically or in terms of taste.
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