In the past, Louis C.K. has spoken ill of Sarah Palin and George W. Bush. Louis C.K. to headline RTCA dinner

Comedian Louis C.K. will headline the 68th Annual Radio & Television Congressional Correspondents Dinner on June 8, 2012, it was announced Monday.

“We’re very excited about having Louis C.K. at the dinner,” said Jay McMichael of CNN, who chairs the RTCA’s executive committee. “This is an evening you’ll want to experience. We’re shaking things up, showcasing the unexpected, and delivering lots of laughs.”


Louis CK currently directs and produces the critically-acclaimed “Louie.”

Previous headliners at the correspondents’ dinner have included Don Imus, John Hodgman, and Joe Wong.

While Louis C.K. is not primarily known for his political comedy, he has dabbled in it, most recently when he got in some hot water for crude tweets made about Sarah Palin. That led to a subsequent awkward encounter with Bristol Palin on “The Tonight Show.”

The RTCA’s decision to pick C.K. bucks the recent trend in Washington whereby black-tie dinners pick safer comedic acts in the wake of Stephen Colbert’s controversial 2006 performance at the White House Correspondents Dinner. As can be heard on this YouTube clip of C.K. during the Bush administration, the comedian can talk trash with the best of them, calling Bush a “f***ing criminal."

The president and top congressional leaders, as well as Washington media types, typically attend the RTCA dinner.

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