The annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner is traditionally a chance for the press and the president of the United States to make fun of themselves and each other. Donald Trump, who notoriously sat stone-faced when he was lampooned by Seth Meyers at the 2011 dinner, isn’t much of a fan of the media, or criticism, or freedom, or humor, so it’s anybody’s guess how this year’s dinner will go on April 29, or whether he’ll even attend. But one person who definitely won’t be there is Samantha Bee, who has already made other plans.
On the night of the official White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Bee will host her own “alternative gala,” appropriately called “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” at the Willard Hotel. Bee told the New York Times that the idea for the event, which will feature like-minded comedians mocking the commander in chief, stemmed from a conversation with her producers on her TBS show Full Frontal With Samantha Bee.
“We’re not trying to supersede it,” said Bee of the official dinner thrown by the White House Correspondents’ Association. “We just want to be there in case something happens—or doesn’t happen—and ensure that we get to properly roast the president.”
That’s not to say that the comedians who host the WHCD are always chummy with the guests. In 2006, Stephen Colbert famously spent half an hour roasting the Bush administration and a mostly unamused crowd of journalists for, among other things, their lack of skepticism about the president’s claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. But Trump’s unusually thin skin and penchant for Twitter rants could make for a very tense evening, unless the Association gets, say, Jimmy Fallon.
Bee says that TBS, the network that airs Full Frontal, will probably also broadcast her “alternative” correspondents’ dinner “in some form,” although neither a network nor lineup has yet been officially announced. Proceeds from the evening will go toward the Committee to Protect Journalists.
