Roy Wood Jr. Takes Aim at Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon at 2023 White House Correspondents' Dinner
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"Scandals have been devouring careers this year," Wood said in his set, which also included a dig at Vanderpump Rules star Tom Sandoval
Roy Wood Jr. got plenty of laughs as host of the 2023 White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night, as he poked fun at Tucker Carlson's exit from Fox News and Don Lemon's exit from CNN.
The Daily Show comedian did not hold bak in his speech, telling the audience at the Washington Hilton that "scandal" had been a unifying factor recently. "Scandals have been devouring careers this year," Wood said.
"The untouchable Tucker Carlson is out of a job. Some people celebrate it but to Tucker's staff, I want to know that I know what you're feeling. I work at The Daily Show so I too have been blindsided by the sudden departure of the host of a fake news program," he joked, referencing Trevor Noah's exit from the Comedy Central series.
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Wood went on to compare the controversy surrounding Carlson's exit to the breakup of Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix, after he was caught in an affair with their costar Raquel Leviss.
"Tucker got caught up. Got caught up like that dude from Vanderpump Rules," Wood joked. "I don't know what Vanderpump Rules is about, I've watched it a couple of times. My friends told me it's like BMF but for white people. Or is that Succession? No, Succession is Power for white people. No, Tucker Carlson is Power for white people. No, that's white power — you know what, nevermind."
"We gotta get Tucker Carlson back on the air, mister president, because right now, there's millions of Americans who don't even know why they hate you," Wood added.
Though Wood did see one bright side to Carlson's exit. "I think we should give credit where credit is due," he teased. "Tucker Carlson is the first host to get fired by Fox News for something that's only partially about how he treats women. That's progress! He shattered the a----- ceiling!"
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That's when Wood turned his material on to Lemon, calling him an "a------" too.
"Don Lemon released a statement saying he got fired from CNN, then CNN released a statement saying they offered Don a meeting," said Wood. "They had to part ways because Don Lemon can't even accurately report a story about Don Lemon!"
"I still think that Don deserved more, CNN. That ain't how you fire someone," said Wood. "How funny is it that you work in the news, then watch on the news how you got fired form the news? Don Lemon is now the most obnoxious guy in the history of CNN, that's not fair! Even Jeffrey Toobin looking at Don Lemon like, 'Ooh he rubbed me the wrong way.' "
"Letting Don go was the wrong move," added Wood. "You shouldn't have let him go, not this soon. ... You don't fire your host after the first couple of scandals. The scandals got to stack up. You gotta get the ratings. Yes, Don Lemon was a diva and he said a couple of women were raggedy in the face. But that's a promotion at Fox News!"
Saturday's dinner came just days after Carlson and Lemon — two of cable news' most prominent figures — were pulled from their respective on-air slots on Monday morning.
Both departures were announced within an hour of each other. Carlson abruptly left Fox News without even a farewell show, while Lemon was terminated from CNN.
Shortly after news of the shocking media shakeups broke, Wood joked in a Twitter exchange that he was going to have to rewrite his comedy set for the high-profile dinner.
"Pretty sure @roywoodjr is updating his remarks/roast for the White House Correspondents' dinner this coming Saturday," MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan wrote on Twitter Monday — to which Wood, 44, replied, "'Updating?' Man I gotta throw out the whole damn script."
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Wood was announced as the host of the annual event in February, saying in a statement at the time, "It's an honor to be a part of a long-running tradition of celebrating those members of the media, who work so hard to uncover the truth, and hold our government accountable. It will be a great night that will go down in the history books, or not, depending on which state you live in."
The annual correspondent's dinner traces back to 1921 and has historically been attended by members of the association as well as high-ranking government officials including the president and first lady.
Meanwhile, Wood wasn't the only one to joke about Carlson and Lemon on Saturday. President Biden also included jabs at the two's expense in his speech — though directly plenty of his jokes inward, too, making fun of longstanding criticisms of his age.
"I believe in the First Amendment," he said. "Not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it."
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