Kathy Griffin Heaps Praise After Wolf Bombs Correspondents Dinner
Kathy Griffin had nothing but praise Saturday for fellow comedian Michelle Wolf, who delivered several highly-controversial “jokes” at the White House correspondents’ dinner.
As reported by The Hill, Griffin spoke to reporters shortly after the dinner was over Saturday night.
“I loved it. I thought she [Wolf] really did what she needed to do,” said Griffin, who is a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, his staff and supporters.
“As a female, you’ve got to work harder, you’ve got to jump higher. And she did it. She went there — fearlessly.
“I thought frankly the audience reaction a couple times were tepid, and I really felt it was because she was a woman,” Griffin added. “I think a lot of her comments made these straighty, backwards dinosaurs uncomfortable. And I live for that.”
At the dinner, Wolf lambasted Trump and numerous other members of the administration. Trump had announced plans long before Saturday to skip the dinner for a second straight year, which brings journalists, celebrities and other officials in politics together in order to raise money for scholarships.
According to The Guardian, Wolf’s performance “put the cat among the social media pigeons” as she went after senior figures of the White House — namely that of White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and longtime Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway.
Jokes aimed at Sanders included references to her lying during press briefings and her physical appearance, sparking criticism as well as discomfort among the crowd.
The sharp jabs about Sanders prompted a walkout from White House adviser Mercedes Schlapp and her husband, Matt, who Tweeted about the disgraceful performance.
“Enough of elites mocking all of us,” tweeted Matt Schlapp, who also chairs the American Conservative Union.
My wife @mercedesschlapp and I walked out early from the wh correspondents dinner. Enough of elites mocking all of us
— Matt Schlapp (@mschlapp) April 29, 2018
Former press secretary Sean Spicer called the act “absolutely disgusting,” with others such as Andrea Mitchell from NBC News calling for an apology for the speech, which she claimed was the worst since the Clintons’ mockery at the hands of Don Imus, who referenced Bill’s extramarital affair.
Apology is owed to @PressSec and others grossly insulted ny Michelle Wolf at White House Correspondents Assoc dinner which started with uplifting heartfelt speech by @margarettalev – comedian was worst since Imus insulted Clinton’s
— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) April 29, 2018
Peter Baker, White House correspondent for The New York Times, added to the mix. “I don’t think we advanced the cause of journalism tonight,” he said.
Through it all, however, Sanders maintained her composure and didn’t walk out on the performance — a speech Griffin maintains was Wolf’s job.
Griffin said the job of a comedian was always to “push the line and go over it again” without needing to be safe or cautious.
“That was her job,” Griffin said.“She wasn’t hired to offer media analysis or be fair and balanced. She was hired to poke fun at powerful people.”
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