Michelle Wolf's White House Correspondents' Dinner remarks condemned by WHCA president

Show Caption Hide Caption Michelle Wolf's brutal roasting of Sarah Sanders At the 2018 White House Correspondents' dinner, comedian Michelle Wolf delivered a number of racy jokes. Her main target seemed to be Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

The aftershocks of Michelle Wolf's White House Correspondents' Dinner monologue continue as the association's president, Margaret Talev, expressed her dissatisfaction with Wolf's remarks in a statement shared to Twitter Sunday night.

The host of Netflix's new show The Break has fielded criticism from President Trump and former press secretary Sean Spicer for her jokes that took aim at the commander in chief and members of his administration, including a present Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Trump, for the second year in a row, did not attend the annual D.C. fête put on by the White House Correspondents' Association.

In the letter addressed to members, Talev says she has heard concerns over Wolf's comments.

"Oliver Knox, who will take over this summer as our president, and I, recognize these concerns and are committed to hearing from members on your views on the format of the dinner going forward," the senior White House correspondent for Bloomberg wrote. "Last night's program was meant to offer a unifying message about our common commitment to a vigorous and free press while honoring civility, great reporting and scholarship winners, not to divide people. Unfortunately, the entertainer's monologue was not in the spirit of the mission.

"Every day we are working hard to advocate for our members and ensure coverage that benefits the public, and the dinner is an important opportunity to highlight and maintain our essential work," the statement continued. "The White House Correspondents' Association remains dedicated to that mission."

Wolf seemed to respond on Instagram early Monday, sharing a photo of herself beaming on the evening that stirred so much controversy. The caption read "Not in the spirit of the mission," a direct quote from Talev's statement.

Not in the spirit of the mission. A post shared by Michelle Wolf (@michelleisawolf) on Apr 29, 2018 at 9:52pm PDT

Wolf warned the WHCA during her speech "You should've done more research before you (asked) me to do this."

She jokingly complimented Sanders for being "very resourceful."

"She burns facts and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smoky eye," Wolf said. "Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s lies. It’s probably lies."

"I'm never really sure what to call Sarah Huckabee Sanders," she continued. "Is it Sarah Sanders? Is it Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Is it Cousin Huckabee? Is it Auntie Huckabee Sanders? Like, what's Uncle Tom but for white women who disappoint other white women?"

Wolf also said Kellyanne Conway "has the perfect last name for what she does: Conway."

Wolf's wisecracks drew praise from fellow comics Kathy Griffin and Amy Schumer on social media. Griffin, who weathered her own backlash after posing with a mock severed Trump head, attended Saturday's bash and thought Wolf's bit was "great." "She was hilarious and confident," the comedian tweeted.

Schumer shared footage from the evening to Instagram, captioning the clip "@michelleisawolf murdering at the #whitehousecorrespondentsdinner."

Wolf herself took to Twitter to address the backlash. In reply to Spicer tweeting the evening was a disgrace, she wrote "Thank you!" Wolf also defended her jokes about Sanders to those who said they were jabs at her appearance.

"Hey mags! All these jokes were about her despicable behavior. Sounds like you have some thoughts about her looks though?" Wolf wrote, adding a kissing emoji.

To Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, who was also one of the evening's targets, Wolf asked "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."

Hey mags! All these jokes were about her despicable behavior. Sounds like you have some thoughts about her looks though? 😘 https://t.co/JRzzvhBuey — Michelle Wolf (@michelleisawolf) April 29, 2018

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

On Monday morning, Trump again took to Twitter to declare the dinner "DEAD."

"The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is DEAD as we know it," he wrote. "This was a total disaster and an embarrassment to our great Country and all that it stands for. FAKE NEWS is alive and well and beautifully represented on Saturday night!"

The night prior, Trump also knocked Wolf on the social media site. "The filthy “comedian” totally bombed (couldn’t even deliver her lines-much like the Seth Meyers weak performance)," he tweeted Sunday.

Meyers, who performed at the dinner in 2011, seized on the opportunity to poke the president.

"You remembered!!! Happy Anniversary, Boo," the Late Night host tweeted Monday morning.

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is DEAD as we know it. This was a total disaster and an embarrassment to our great Country and all that it stands for. FAKE NEWS is alive and well and beautifully represented on Saturday night! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2018

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner was a failure last year, but this year was an embarrassment to everyone associated with it. The filthy “comedian” totally bombed (couldn’t even deliver her lines-much like the Seth Meyers weak performance). Put Dinner to rest, or start over! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2018