‘The Daily Show’ Correspondent Roy Wood Jr. to Emcee 2023 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner

“It’s an honor to be a part of a long-running tradition of celebrating those members of the media,” the comedian says

Roy Wood Jr. attends the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards
Amy Sussman/Getty Images

“The Daily Show” correspondent Roy Wood Jr. is about to step onto an even bigger political stage. The White House Correspondents’ Association announced Thursday that the comedian will be the headlining entertainer for their 2023 dinner.

“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,” Wood Jr. said in a statement. “It will be a great night that will go down in the history books, or not, depending on which state you live in.”

“Roy Wood Jr. brings a journalistic eye to his comedy. He’s hilarious – but also makes sure his audiences are thinking as they laugh,” Tamara Keith, WHCA president and White House correspondent for NPR, said in a statement. “My aim with this year’s dinner is to lift up the importance of a free and independent press to a functioning democracy, so I am thrilled to be able to feature a comedian who gets what journalism is all about.”

The annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner will be held on April 29, 2023, and will again be produced by Bob Bain productions. Traditionally, the dinner’s guest list includes the president and first lady, senior government officials and members of the press corps. Proceeds from the annual dinner go towards the WHCA budget for scholarships and more.

To this point best known for his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” Wood Jr. has built a career in political and social satire while spotlighting issues of race and discrimination in the U.S. His latest hour-long standup special “Imperfect Messenger” is now streaming on Paramount+. 

Prior to “The Daily Show,” the comedian’s standup work could be seen featured across much of late night TV and on HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam.” He was also a finalist on NBC’s reality competition series “Last Comic Standing” and was executive producer on the Emmy-nominated documentary “The Neutral Ground” for PBS.

To Keith’s point that Wood Jr. brings a “journalistic eye” to comedy, he studied broadcast journalism at Florida A&M University and his late father was a pioneering radio and television journalist recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the National Association of Black Journalists for his time covering the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S., the South African Soweto race riots and more.

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