Roy Wood Jr. brought the laughs to Washington as the featured comedian at the 2023 White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, April 29. In his hilarious opening speech, Roy, 44, joked about both Tucker Carlson being ousted from Fox News and the scandal surrounding Vanderpump Rules — all while Ariana Madix sat in the audience with Lisa Vanderpump!
“Tucker got caught up. Got caught up like that dude from Vanderpump Rules,” Roy joked. “I don’t know what Vanderpump Rules is about, I’ve watched it a couple of times. My friends told me it’s like BMF but for white people. Or is that Succession? No, Succession is Power for white people. No, Tucker Carlson is Power for white people. No, that’s white power — you know what, nevermind.”
Last week, Tucker and Fox News parted ways after Fox settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems after the company claimed the network promoted a conspiracy about the 2020 election. And in case you missed it, the drama involving Tom Sandoval cheating on his girlfriend Ariana with costar Raquel Leviss has been going on for quite some time.
Ariana and Vanderpump Rules boss Lisa were seated at the White House to take in all the snubbing! It appeared Ariana was having a laugh with Roy, as seen in the clip above. And as seen on Lisa’s Instagram, their costar Lala Kent was also in the mix!
Roy was announced as the featured comedian for the 2023 Correspondents’ Dinner in February. With the exciting news, Roy posted a joke on Instagram sharing how excited he was to be included in the event, and he hoped it would be memorable, while seemingly making an attack on some politicians who try to erase different moments from history. “This night will go down in the history books, and then be removed from the history books, or maybe never be added to the history books. All depends on which state you live in, it’s complicated,” he wrote.
When the White House Correspondents’ Association announced Roy as the special guest, he was more candid about how special the opportunity was in a press release. “It’s an honor to be a part of a long-running tradition of celebrating those members of the media, who work so hard to uncover the truth, and hold our government accountable,” he said.
WHCA President and NPR correspondent Tamara Keith also shared why Roy was the perfect pick to perform at the dinner. “Roy Wood Jr. brings a journalistic eye to his comedy. He’s hilarious – but also makes sure his audiences are thinking as they laugh,” he said in a statement. “My aim with this year’s dinner is to lift up the importance of a free and independent press to a functioning democracy, so I am thrilled to be able to feature a comedian who gets what journalism is all about.”
While Roy has been performing standup comedy for decades (and he’s even appeared in a few TV shows and movies), he’s perhaps best-known as a long-time correspondent on Comedy Central’s news program The Daily Show, making him a perfect candidate for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Besides his guest appearances, Roy even got to sit behind the desk at the beginning of April, as he was one of the guest hosts while the show prepares for its next permanent anchor.
The 2023 White House Correspondents’ Dinner marks the second of President Joe Biden’s administration, who also delivered hilarious opening remarks for the evening. While a dinner was not held in 2021, the event returned in 2022, with former Daily Show host Trevor Noah acting as the host. Biden also attended the event, marking the first time that a president had gone to the event, as former President Donald Trump did not attend throughout his presidency.