Trevor Noah hosted Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner and used the occasion to roast politicians, the state of Florida, and Hollywood insiders.
As he stood in front of the audience of about 2,500 celebrities, journalists, attorneys and politicians, Noah joked about how comedy has changed since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
“It is risky making jokes these days,” The Daily Show host quipped. “I mean, we all saw what happened at the Oscars.”
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Noah then jabbed former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and her husband, conservative attorney and Trump critic George Conway.
“I’ve actually been a little worried about tonight. What if I make a really mean joke about Kellyanne Conway, and then her husband rushes up on the stage and thanks me?” he said.
Trevor Noah on the Oscars slap seen around the world: ‘It is risky making jokes these days. I mean, we all saw what happened at the Oscars … What if I make a really mean joke about Kellyanne Conway and then her husband rushes up on the stage and thanks me?’ #WHCD pic.twitter.com/ebp6U0kj5q
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) May 1, 2022
Fortunately for Noah, no one melted down like Smith did at the Oscars when host Rock made a joke about the King Richard star’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Smith has since issued a public apology, saying “I was wrong.” After resigning from the film academy, he got to keep his best actor Oscar but was been banned from attending the ceremony for ten years.
Back to Saturday’s dinner, the event marked the first White House Correspondents’ Dinner in three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festivities were attended by President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, journalists and celebrities, including Chris Tucker, Mario Van Peeples, Gayle King, Drew Barrymore, Martha Stewart, Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson.
The gathering was carried live on C-SPAN. The annual event is held to support the White House Correspondents’ Association and to raise scholarship money for aspiring journalists, the WHCA says on its website.
You can check out Noah’s full remarks in the video below.
