Wolf gave Washington the roast it deserves

Michelle Wolf pierced the delicate ears of Washington insiders, Menon writes.

Comedy routines often reveal more about an audience than a performer.

This was the case on Saturday at the White House correspondents’ dinner, where comic Michelle Wolf pierced the delicate ears of Washington insiders with barbed material that left them wincing more than laughing.

This was the one time a crowd was praying for Kanye West to rush the stage and grab the mic.

I haven’t seen this much squirming and awkward silence since Angelina Jolie won an Oscar in 2000 and declared, “I’m in shock and I’m so in love with my brother right now!”

But this was not an acceptance speech. This was a roast.

And with her standup oven cranked up to 600 degrees, Wolf charred Washington’s media-political complex, pulling no punch lines while targeting both sides of the half-baked aisle.

There’s no doubt many of her jokes were crude and vulgar.

Wolf compared Ivanka Trump to a Diaper Genie:

“She looks sleek but the inside … it’s still full of s---.”

As for the U.S. president’s decision to skip the annual schmoozefest for the second year, she quipped: “I would drag him here myself. But it turns out the president of the United States is the one pussy you’re not allowed to grab.”

The reaction shots throughout the 20-minute set said it all.

Many of the attendees were frozen in their gowns and tuxes, staring down with the forlorn expressions of bank hostages on the third day of a tense standoff. At one point, the camera cut to Kellyanne Conway. She looked on with pure disgust, like she had just wandered into her kitchen to discover the intruder Wolf eating handfuls of Frosted Flakes while defecating on the floor.

But while some of the ensuing outrage was predictable — Sean Spicer called the event a “disgrace,” Trump described Wolf as “filthy” — some of it was disturbing.

But don’t blame Wolf — blame her critics in the media.

Wolf was heavily criticized, especially for her jokes about Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was sitting two feet away from the podium. She compared Sanders to Aunt Lydia in The Handmaid’s Tale. She sarcastically praised Sanders for resourcefulness: “Like, she burns facts, and then she uses the ash to create a perfect smoky eye.”

Wolf concluded by saying, “I’m never really sure what to call Sarah Huckabee Sanders. You know, is it Sarah Sanders? Is it Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Is it Cousin Huckabee? Is it Auntie Huckabee Sanders? Like, what’s ‘Uncle Tom,’ but for white women who disappoint other white women? Oh, I know: Aunt Coulter.”

Note: there were no jokes about Sanders’ appearance. These were jokes about Sanders’ character and the widespread perception she is a human fidget spinner who either twirls away from the truth or lies on behalf of her boss.

But instead of getting the joke, a number of media stars — including the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman and MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski — falsely accused Wolf of ridiculing Sanders’ appearance. Huh?

It’s almost as if these media stars now have Stockholm Syndrome.

Or maybe this is more about Wolf’s outsider status.

I can tell you this: if Jimmy Kimmel or Stephen Colbert had delivered the same material on Saturday night, the Washington press corps would’ve given itself a hernia while doubling over in hysterics. There would be no calls for either man to apologize. The White House Press Association would’ve never issued a cowardly statement distancing itself from the “entertainer’s monologue,” as it did on Sunday.

For all the earnest agonizing over free speech, it was the Washington political class that recoiled to its fainting couch and demanded silence at the first hint of controversy.

Spicer was right for the wrong reason: what a bloody disgrace.

Wolf did what she was asked to do. She brought a topical flamethrower to the podium and burned the political establishment to the ground: Republicans, Democrats and the media. She zeroed in on the hypocrisy and absurdities that are bipartisan and cross-industry. She went off on everyone.

So whatever you thought of her routine — and comedy is subjective — the journalists who attacked her are the ones who should be hanging their heads in shame. As these skittish and obsequious fools were devouring monkfish and rubbing elbows with the people they cover, Wolf was doing their job: speaking truth to power.

“You guys are obsessed with Trump,” she said, near the end of her routine. “Did you used to date him? Because you pretend like you hate him, but I think you love him. I think what no one in this room wants to admit is that Trump has helped all of you.

“He couldn’t sell steaks or vodka or water or college or ties or Eric, but he has helped you. He’s helped you sell your papers and your books and your TV. You helped create this monster, and now you’re profiting off of him.”

I suspect that was the real reason for the outrage.

Michelle Wolf hit the media where the truth hurts most.