Comedian and actress Kathy Griffin said on Sunday that comedian Michelle Wolf did the job she was hired to do at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Griffin, who attended the event, praised Wolf in a string of tweets for a routine that “took no prisoners.”
Wolf, Griffin said, “was hired to do a roast. That was her job.”
“She wasn’t hired to offer media analysis or be fair and balanced,” Griffin added. “She was hired to poke fun at powerful people.”
For Griffin, a comedian’s job is to “push the line and go over it again” without being safe or careful.
Wolf’s routine triggered a wave of controversy for its blunt and provocative nature, leading some White House staffers to walk out of the event early.
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Wolf’s jokes targeting White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, in particular, drew harsh criticism from politicians and journalists alike.
Griffin said that calls for the White House Correspondents’ Association to apologize to Sanders are “absurd,” especially since President Trump himself has said that he does not apologize for anything.
She then took aim at the press for similar calls on Wolf to apologize when, Griffin said, the press is unwilling to call on the Trump administration to apologize for anything.
Griffin also praised Wolf for her performance following Saturday’s dinner.
“As a female, you’ve got to work harder, you’ve got to jump higher. And she did it. She went there — fearlessly,” Griffin said.
Trump skipped the dinner for a second year, choosing instead to attend a rally in Washington, Mich.