Michelle Wolf discussed the outraged response to her brutally honest set at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner this weekend, saying she wouldn’t change a thing about her remarks.
In Wolf’s first major interview since her polarizing roast of President Donald Trump, his administration, Congress and members of the media who cover them, Wolf told Terry Gross of NPR’s “Fresh Air” that she is proud she stayed true to herself and her brand of comedy and didn’t cater to the room.
“I wouldn’t change a single word that I said. I’m very happy with what I said, and I’m glad I stuck to my guns,” Wolf said in an interview set to air Tuesday.
“I don’t know, maybe I’m projecting this, but I think sometimes they look at a woman and they think ‘Oh, she’ll be nice,’ and if you’ve seen any of my comedy you know that I don’t – I’m not,” Wolf added.
“I’m very happy with what I said, and I’m glad I stuck to my guns.”
- Michelle Wolf
Wolf’s fans applauded her on-point takedown of Washington’s most powerful players. She called out members of the administration for repeatedly lying and blamed journalists in the room for contributing to Trump’s rise to prominence.
The comic’s set prompted several conservatives and some high-profile members of the press to condemn her, in some cases calling on Wolf to publicly apologize. The president of the White House Correspondents’ Association released a statement amid the uproar, saying Wolf’s set was “not in the spirit” of the event’s mission. Trump fired off an inevitable incensed tweet about the event he didn’t attend, calling Wolf “filthy.”
Fellow comedians and several journalists rushed to Wolf’s defense. Wolf also defended jokes she made about White House press secretary Sarah Sanders. Critics said she attacked Sanders’ physical appearance, but Wolf said the jokes focused on her behavior.
“I mean, if there is two people that I actually made fun of their looks on Saturday, it was Mitch McConnell and Chris Christie,” Wolf told Gross. “I made fun of Mitch McConnell’s neck and I did a small jab at Chris Christie’s weight, and no one is jumping to their defense.”
The comedian also said she thought Sanders seemed to be protesting the press throughout the night when the event was not televised.
“They were giving out awards, and everyone was standing to congratulate the people who were getting awards, and Sarah was sitting,” Wolf said. “I would say if this is about celebrating the media, she wasn’t there to celebrate the media.”
Wolf’s interview with Gross will air in full on Tuesday on WHYY’s “Fresh Air.” To read more excerpts from the discussion, head to NPR’s website.