# Larry Wilmore to host White House Correspondents' Dinner next April **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2015, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677 "2015-12-17T11:59:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/21 "2016-05-02T13:48:27Z")
No, Wilmore just made them mad. It’s ok, maybe he made you mad too. No need to cop pleas on their behalf. Making assholes mad is funny, and will always be funny. The anger was palpable. Obamas speech had two good laugh lines for me, which is pretty decent. The steak or fish line and another I can’t remember. The room reaction to him was pure sycophancy, and a bit disturbing. Wilmore’s Steph Curry line might be the highlight of the Obama presidency for me. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/22 "2016-05-02T13:55:00Z")
I hope next year they have Ryan Grim… ---
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/23 "2016-05-02T15:04:36Z")
Obama had better material and a better delivery than the comics all 8 times. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/24 "2016-05-02T15:10:55Z")
> [@DonLogan](#): > > Obama had better material and a better delivery than the comics all 8 times. I thought Seth Meyer did a pretty good job. But yea, its kinda weird how poorly experienced comics do at these things. I wouldn’t think it was that different from what they are used to while doing stand-up. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/25 "2016-05-02T15:15:22Z")
I laughed a lot at Wilmore. I thought he did a great job of ripping the press. Though, yes, Obama was better. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/26 "2016-05-02T15:24:07Z")
I didn’t mind the harshness of the jokes. I thought a lot of them were kind of trite. His timing was also terrible: he’d tell a joke, overemphasize the punchline, laugh at it, and look around with an expectant grin on his face waiting for others to laugh. Obama and Colbert both were deadpan through their sets, which IMO is a much better approach to this sort of event. Wilmore’s line about Obama dropping bombs from a distance was excellent: razor-sharp satire. The rest of it was cringeworthy. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/27 "2016-05-02T15:34:20Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > His timing was also terrible: he’d tell a joke, overemphasize the punchline, laugh at it, and look around with an expectant grin on his face waiting for others to laugh. I do agree with this. Wilmore is much better when he deadpans it, and the type of material he was using also benefits from straight delivery. That’s what he should have done for this set. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/28 "2016-05-02T15:36:53Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > No, Wilmore just made them mad. It’s ok, maybe he made you mad too. No need to cop pleas on their behalf. Making assholes mad is funny, and will always be funny. The anger was palpable. Eh, I don’t think the press was particularly mad. Again, this happens every year, and its the Press Corp themselves that keeps inviting comedians to host. Its kinda silly to think that they’re being blindsided by it everytime. It’s basically the purpose of the dinner at this point. And the jokes are basically the same every year. Indeed, some of Wilmore’s jokes were almost the same that Obama had made all of twenty minutes earlier. I’m pretty sure this wasn’t the first time the people at CNN had heard “CNN isn’t real news” jokes, or CSPAN has heard “haha, no one watches CSPAN” jokes. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/29 "2016-05-02T15:40:25Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Eh, I don’t think the press was particularly mad. Did you see Blitzer’s face? If looks could kill, Wilmore would have been slumped over the podium. And Don Lemon gave him what looked to be a pretty serious middle finger. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/30 "2016-05-02T15:45:54Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Did you see Blitzer’s face? If looks could kill, Wilmore would have been slumped over the podium. And Don Lemon gave him what looked to be a pretty serious middle finger. Lemon’s middle finger was clearly in jest. He gave a smile and a wave at the same time. Blitzer looked like he might have actually been angry. But the room in general wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/31 "2016-05-02T16:54:11Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Lemon’s middle finger was clearly in jest. He gave a smile and a wave at the same time. > > Blitzer looked like he might have actually been angry. But the room in general wasn’t. If my name was Wolf Blitzer, I wouldn’t have a sense of humor either. Yeah, Lemon was clearly kidding. And the room wasn’t angry. They laughed at the best jokes, groaned at some dumb ones, and sat on their hands for weak ones. That’s the sign of people who appreciate humor. Look, when comedians normally draw a crowd of 2700, they have made it big and people are spending lots of money just to see them. Those audiences howl and roar and clap and make noise at every burp. The wilder they act, the better the atmosphere of the room, which is proof that they spent their money well. The audience at the WHCD is not there to see the comedian. He or she is the last act on a very long bill, when everybody wants to leave for the afterparties. They are outsiders as well. Obama made insider jokes. Wilmore’s jokes came from the perspective of the home audience. I’ve trying to think of the last comedian who won the room. I think the answer is nobody. DonLogan is right. Obama had better jokes and a better delivery as far back as I remember. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/32 "2016-05-02T18:30:35Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Look, when comedians normally draw a crowd of 2700, they have made it big and people are spending lots of money just to see them. Those audiences howl and roar and clap and make noise at every burp. The wilder they act, the better the atmosphere of the room, which is proof that they spent their money well. This is definitely true in stand-up: if you have a strong reputation already, it helps you immeasurably. People laugh at jokes that they would never laugh at if told by a non-famous comedian. In another thread, some time ago, doper **RickJay** made that observation about Louis CK, and i agree completely. I really like Louis CK, and i think his show is incredibly smart and very funny at times. I also like some of his stand-up. But some of it is incredibly unfunny, and he often flogs a joke for far too long rather than letting it go once it’s gotten a laugh. And yet, in such cases, his audience continues to laugh uproariously. It’s almost like they’re the ones being paid to provide the show, and they don’t want to disappoint the guy on stage by failing to laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/33 "2016-05-03T01:58:35Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Well, forget the people in the room. I didn’t think he was very funny. And I have no love for a lot of the people he targeted. > [@Staggerlee](#): > > Thought I’d watch this as I’m holidaying in America. Obama did a good job as ever, but it can’t be easy for any comedian to follow such a charming and natural public speaker. I’ve seen that Larry Wilmore on the Daily Show a few years ago and I suppose those jokes about race which he delivers in a faux-amateur manner, leaving the punchline hanging awkwardly in the air must be his style. Don’t think it worked well here though. > [@Simplicio](#): > > Eh, other WHCD comedians have done the “insult comic” thing on the press and gotten plenty of laughs\*. Wilmore just isn’t really good at it, most of his insults were pretty stale and the jokes predictable. “Print media is dead, amirite…?”, etc. > > His bit in the beginning, before he started in with the insults was pretty funny, though. I think the rest would’ve been better if he didn’t try to be edgy for edginess’s sake. > \*(every year people act like the comedian really showed those nasty politicians and press people. But of course, its the Press Assoc, that chooses and hires the comedian every year. They aren’t being repeatedly blind-sided by this kinda thing. They obviously enjoy the psuedo comedy-roast aspect of the dinner.) > [@Simplicio](#): > > Yea, I don’t think Wilmore’s affable stage persona really lends itself to the more mean-spirited humor he was trying for here. He comes off too forced and nervous, and gives the impression his heart wasn’t really into writing the jokes. On his show, he still insults people, but in a way that makes it sound like he’s confused or exasperated, rather than just straight insults. > > As I said, I thought the material at the beginning and end, when he was joking around with Obama, was pretty funny. He would’ve been better off sticking with that sort of material. > > Obama as always is weirdly good at these. They should hire him to come back as the comedian/host for the next one. > [@ftg](#): > > While the home viewers liked it a lot, there was a lot of grumpiness by the live audience. Some of his best jokes (IMHO) barely got a laugh. > > This is a hard crowd for certain types of comics. The more the comic is into sucking up to the crowd, the better he/she will do. But those folk usually leave the home viewers cold. > > I don’t think Wilmore tried to aim his bit to fit both groups and ended up missing both. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > At the time Colbert thought he had bombed because the feedback from the room was so cold. And he was nervous and awkward throughout because the lack of response kept throwing his timing off. I think he was as surprised as anyone that the tape got such a good aftermath. > > Wilmore’s problem wasn’t nervousness. His jokes were awful and they kept getting the response they deserved. He just couldn’t believe how badly he was bombing. He did worse than Joel McHale, and McHale was terrible. Obama’s jokes were far more sophisticated. > > The reaction to Hillary was simple. Every person in the room knows she’s going to be the next president. They’ve known for a year or more that she’s going to be the next president. If Jeb Bush was winning the race and had been for a year, they’d have reacted the same way. Heck, if anyone in that room thought Trump would be the next president they’d have booed Obama off the stage. They’re presidentotropic. Man… you guys’ sense of humor is _way_ different from mine, and the people I kick it with: aside from the “Zodiac Killer” part, I thought that Larry Wilmore’s set was fucking hilarious! It was a huge hit with the people that are part of the RASN (Reluctant A. Social Network). ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/34 "2016-05-03T12:16:11Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Eh, I don’t think the press was particularly mad. Again, this happens every year, and its the Press Corp themselves that keeps inviting comedians to host. Its kinda silly to think that they’re being blindsided by it everytime. It’s basically the purpose of the dinner at this point. > > And the jokes are basically the same every year. Indeed, some of Wilmore’s jokes were almost the same that Obama had made all of twenty minutes earlier. I’m pretty sure this wasn’t the first time the people at CNN had heard “CNN isn’t real news” jokes, or CSPAN has heard “haha, no one watches CSPAN” jokes. Oh no doubt. The mad-making took place with his jabs at Obama and Clinton, and MSNBC of all things. Palpable anger. And yes, Wolf Blitzer was fuming. The crowd was also mad at the unapologetic blackness of the whole affair. They don’t like it when they are cast as “other than” their idol the president, they’d rather feel like they are a liberal elite monolith who courageously saves the country from its backward peasantry. I haven’t watched one of these in a while has anyone hit the president over his whistleblower crackdown? The “serious” part of the Obama speech had me wondering how many people believe that stuff outside of his bubble. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/35 "2016-05-03T13:49:21Z")
I thought it was a pretty good set, overall. It was a roast, and Wilmore is no roastmaster. That’s not necessarily to his discredit. He plowed nervously and facing a hostile audience. There is something to be said for delivery, that a more confident presentation of the same material would have given the punches more power. But I was rooting for him, and I didn’t think he did so badly considering. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/36 "2016-05-04T15:25:00Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Well, it seemed like he was bombing with the bunch of self-righteous assholes that he was roasting. That’s completely fine with me. I thought plenty of his jokes were not only pretty funny, but also spot on in terms of their observations. I agree, the audience really needed to pull the cutlery out of their butts. I thought it was a pretty decent roasting, although it did fall rather flat around the middle. I generally like what Wilmore does on his show, and he seemed to be doing the same type of thing here, without changing his style for the occasion. Needless to say, the same set would have gotten a great response from an audience of Wilmore’s own fans. > [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > . . . aside from the “Zodiac Killer” part, I thought that Larry Wilmore’s set was fucking hilarious! . . . The zodiac killer part, which I thought was rather weak, seemed to get the best response, while, as \*\*ftg \*\*notes, some of his more clever jokes barely got any reaction. One thing I noticed, while the audience generally didn’t seem to appreciate the shots Wilmore took at them, Obama laughed at every joke Wilmore made at his expense. That man has class. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/37 "2016-05-04T15:34:09Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I laughed a lot at Wilmore. I thought he did a great job of ripping the press. Though, yes, Obama was better. Agreed on all counts. I laughed more than I thought I would at Wilmore’s set (although he did the Cruz-is-the-Zodiac-Killer thing longer than he should have). ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/38 "2016-05-04T16:30:37Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > The crowd was also mad at the unapologetic blackness of the whole affair. Yea, I’m sure the Press Corp invited Larry Wilmore to an event with a black President in attendence and were shocked!, shocked! when he brought up race. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/39 "2016-05-05T15:37:25Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Yea, I’m sure the Press Corp invited Larry Wilmore to an event with a black President in attendence and were shocked!, shocked! when he brought up race. “Bringing up race” and “unapologetic blackness” are two different things but ok. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677/40 "2016-05-05T16:03:20Z")
What does that even mean? Black people being black people? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-wilmore-to-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-next-april/740677.md?page=3)