Few people laughed when comedienne Michelle Wolf made fun of White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at the White House Correspondents Dinner last month. That's because it was more offensive than funny. She poked fun at Sanders's appearance, accused her of lying, and nicknamed her "Uncle Tom but for white women who disappoint other white women," with the press secretary sitting just feet from her. Wolf insisted that her mention of Sanders's "smoky eyes" was not about her physical appearance.
Why are you guys making this about Sarah’s looks? I said she burns facts and uses the ash to create a *perfect* smoky eye. I complimented her eye makeup and her ingenuity of materials. https://t.co/slII9TYdYx
— Michelle Wolf (@michelleisawolf) April 29, 2018
Most media pundits, including liberal ones, disagreed. The backlash got so bad that the White House Correspondent's Association had to issue a statement distancing itself from Wolf's act. Her monologue, they explained, was "not in the spirit" of their association. Media outlets like The Hill were so unamused by the monologue that they informed the WHCA they would not be attending next year's banquet, sans any "major reforms."
None of the backlash has stopped Wolf from targeting Sanders in her comedic material. In her Netflix show, "The Break with Michelle Wolf," Wolf uses the press secretary as an example of feminist hypocrisy. Sanders tweeted a message for Democrats earlier this month calling them out for trying to block Gina Haspel's confirmation to be the first female CIA director in history.
There is no one more qualified to be the first woman to lead the CIA than 30+ year CIA veteran Gina Haspel. Any Democrat who claims to support women’s empowerment and our national security but opposes her nomination is a total hypocrite
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) May 5, 2018
“After Gina was nominated, my best friend Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted, ‘Any Democrat who claims to support women’s empowerment and our national security but opposes her nomination is a total hypocrite,’” Wolf said on her Netflix program. “Well, if anyone’s an expert of hypocrites, it’s Sarah Huckabee Sanders. And for the record, that was not a looks-based joke. That was about her ugly personality. She has the Mario Batali of personalities.”
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