As we discussed on Sunday, President Obama attended his last White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday night in Washington. Pres. Obama always brings the house down with his speeches, and this year was no different. As is often the case, Obama ended up being funnier than the actual comedian keynote speaker at the event. This year’s comedian was Larry Wilmore, who took over the 11:30 time slot on Comedy Central following Stephen Colbert’s move to CBS. Wilmore does a lot of racial humor, and his WHCD speech was no different. Considering he was speaking to a largely white audience, there were a lot of uncomfortable moments during Wilmore’s speech, and most critics claimed that Wilmore “bombed.” But the most uncomfortable moment came at the end, when Wilmore was reflecting on how much America has changed in his lifetime. He said:
“All jokes aside, let me just say how much it means for me to be here tonight. I’ve always joked that I voted for the president because he’s black. But behind that joke is the humble appreciation for the historical implications for what your presidency means. When I was a kid, I lived in a country where people couldn’t accept a black quarterback. Now think about that. A black man was thought by his mere color not good enough to lead a football team. And now to live in your time, Mr. President, when a black man can lead the entire free world. Words alone do me no justice. So, Mr. President, if I’m going to keep it 100. Yo, Barry, you did it, my n-gga!”
I thought it was an uncomfortable moment, but I noted that Obama took it in stride, laughing and embracing Wilmore as Wilmore left the podium. Other people were obviously knee-jerky about it, claiming that Wilmore never should have used any variation of the n-word. Al Sharpton said Wilmore’s use of the word was “in poor taste” and Piers Morgan (eye-roll) devoted some column space to his hot take. The outcry got so bad that the White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest had to answer questions about it at the White House briefing on Monday. According to Earnest:
Pres. Obama “appreciated the spirit of the sentiments that Mr. Wilmore expressed…Any reading of his comments made clear that he was not using the president as a butt of a joke. I take Mr. Wilmore at this words that he found that to be a powerful transformation just in his lifetime and something he seemed to be pretty obviously proud of.”
I get that. I don’t 100% agree with it, but I get it. Wilmore gets it too. He spent some time talking about the kerfuffle on his show on Monday, saying: “I completely understand why people would be upset. It’s a very charged word – I get it.” But, Wilmore pointed out the difference between ending the n-word with an “a” versus an “er,” the difference being that one is a term of endearment (according to Wilmore) amongst black folks and the other is denigrating.
Also, Pres. Obama used the n-word in an interview last year and people freaked out. The context in which he used the word was important, just as I think the context of Wilmore’s usage of the word is important.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Thanks to Cele Bitchy
