Roy Wood Jr., the renowned comedian, entertained guests with a series of witty remarks at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner (WHCD), where he celebrated the importance of local journalism and called for support for local journalists. He also spoke about his father's work in local radio and his mother's career in education.
The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) each year hires a comic to add levity and some zingers to the proceedings. This year, Wood addressed current media controversies such as Don Lemon's ouster from Fox News, Tucker Carlson's departure from CNN, and their respective network ties being cut.
Wood humorously commented on former President Donald Trump's scandals by comparing them to watching Star Wars movies: "Trump was like a never-ending saga that kept everyone on their toes."
In true comedic fashion, Roy Wood Jr. poked fun at himself during his performance: "Not everyone in this room knows who I am," he joked while also mentioning George Santos – the top scholarship recipient at WHCD – auditioning for "RuPaul's Drag Race."
Wood touched upon business developments involving Paramount Global considering offers from Byron Allen and Tyler Perry to purchase BET. He didn't shy away from controversial topics either; addressing Fox claims that Dominion conspired with Democrats to rig elections.
Taking jabs at political figures wasn't off-limits either. According to Wood, becoming vice president would be better than having Dick Cheney make a documentary about his time as vice president.
Roy Wood Jr.'s performance wouldn't have been complete without taking aim at former President Donald Trump once again during the 2023 WHCD event:
"Donald Trump was truly the king of scandals! He is probably still counting royalties for all those spin-offs on Disney+!"
Wood continued with jests aimed towards both sides of politics when discussing how news outlets treated Trump and Biden in regards to confidential documents:
"Media went hard on Trump when news broke that he had taken confidential documents from the White House, but backed down on Biden when it was reported he had done the same thing."
The annual correspondent's dinner dates back to 1921 and has historically been attended by members of the association as well as high-ranking government officials including the president and first lady. However, during his term, Trump snubbed the gathering for three years, telling reporters in 2019 that it was "too negative." This year's event saw a return to form with Roy Wood Jr.'s hilarious performance highlighting both lighter topics and current controversies.