Cecily Strong is no doubt a force of nature. Chicago born and raised, Cecily got her comedy start at the Second City (duh). She joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2012 after Lorne Michaels spotted her at a show. Who would have thought that this Midwestern girl would end up in Washington DC speaking at the city's most star-studded event, the White House Correspondents' Dinner? If you didn't catch the event on television, here is a short summary of Cecily's best moments and how she made her mark on DC.
Cecily is only the 4th woman to EVER host the WHCD. She is preceded by Paula Poundstone (1992), Elayne Boosler (1993), and Wanda Sykes (2009). So needless to say, the pressure was on. And with so much to talk about this year (2016, Brian Williams, #FreeJason, the police, etc.) some were worried that Cecily would take it too far (as Colbert did back in 2006).
Did she take it too far? I don't really think so. Cecily had an important job! She shed a humorous light on some of our nation's most pressing issues. Here is a taste from the event:
"How bout a round of applause for the Secret Service? The only law enforcement organization in the country that will get in trouble if a black man gets shot."
This joke froze the room. Honestly though, it was necessary. Some of the room may have been sensitive to the jab, especially the former New York Police Commissioner. But with the protests going on in Baltimore following Freddie Grey's death in police captivity, she made a great point.
She also shed light on the fact that she was, in fact, the fourth woman in her position. She even made the media in the room swear that they would not comment on Hillary Clinton's appearance because "that is not journalism." Go Cecily! "Since I'm only a comedian, I'm not going to try and tell you comedians how to do politics. That would be like you guys telling me what to do with my body. I mean, can you even imagine? Crazy."
And my personal favorite Cecily Strong joke? “I'm excited about Hillary running, though I'm not sure she's excited about having to run. I think she feels the same way Meryl Streep feels when she's asked to audition for something. Are you kidding me? You're making me go through this? You know I'm going to win." She has a point. Cecily is definitely #ReadyForHillary.
Also, let's take a moment to appreciate the strides women are making in comedy. With Cecily hosting the dinner this year, female comedians everywhere "high-fived," so to speak. Cecily had to be funny enough to please the audience, not so mean as to really upset anybody, and strong enough to assert herself in a sea of powerful men. I think she rocked it. She set the stage for women everywhere, and showed DC (and the country) that women are hilarious. Good job, Cecily.
Let's not forget Obama's best moments! Our 44th President killed it on Saturday, calling in Keegan-Michael Key of Key and Peele to play his "anger translator" Luther. Personally, I don't understand how either of them kept a straight face with all of the jokes they cranked out.
Seems he's still a tad bitter about the press's portrayal of him back in the day. President Obama has often been criticized for being a little too funny sometimes. As Cecily said, "Thank you for taking time off from being on Jimmy Kimmel to be here." But you know what? He's got less than two years left in office. So what if he has a little fun? Let him enjoy the presidency one last time. Obviously, he's still working day after day to make this country a better place, but why can't he entertain the American people while doing it? He is undeniably the most light-hearted president yet. Clinton may be at a close second.
And as always, what would a WHCD dinner be without a little slam on the Koch brothers? "The Koch brothers think they need to spend a billion dollars to get folks to like one of these people," Obama said of the potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates. "I raised a lot ... but my middle name is Hussein." Touché, Obama, touché.
All in all, the dinner was a success. A star-studded "Nerd Prom" as always.
