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Comedian Larry Wilmore speaks during the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner on April 30, 2016 at the Washington Hilton hotel in Washington.This is President Obama’s eighth and final White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images
The White House is defending late night comedian Larry Wilmore’s use of the n-word during his routine at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner over the weekend, saying that the president “appreciated the spirit and the sentiments that Mr. Wilmore expressed,” the Washington Post reports.
Wilmore caused a buzz over the weekend, when he concluded his remarks with a reference to Obama’s historical importance as the first black president, before adding “So, Mr. President, if I’m going to keep it 100: Yo, Barry, you did it, my n–ga. You did it.”
Obama hugged and Wilmore after his remarks, but the use of the n-word drew harsh criticism.
On Monday, when April Ryan, the Washington Bureau chief for the American Urban Radio Networks questioned Press secretary Josh Earnest about the comments, Earnest brushed them off pointing out that “comedians are gonna go right up to the line.”
“Any comedian who’s signed up to follow President Obama at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is assuming one of the most difficult tasks in comedy. Just by the nature of the engagement, that’s a tough job, following the president of the United States,” Earnest said. “It’s not the first time in the Monday after the correspondents’ dinner, that some people have observed that the comedian at the dinner crossed the line.”
Earnest added that he discussed the routine with Obama on Monday morning, and the president expressed no hangups about it.
“He said that he appreciated the spirit and the sentiments that Mr. Wilmore expressed,” he said. “He ended his speech by saying that he couldn’t put into words the pride that he felt in this president, and he made the observation that this country has made remarkable progress in this lifetime.”
“I’m confident that Mr. Wilmore used the word by design. He was seeking to be provocative. But I think any reading of his comments makes it clear he was not using the president as a butt of a joke,” Earnest added.
Read more at the Washington Post.
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