Comedian Michelle Wolf has no regrets about her speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night (Apr. 28), despite the backlash she’s faced over the last 40 hours for critical comments she made about White House staffers Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kellyanne Conway.
“I wouldn’t change a single word that I said,” Wolf told NPR in an interview that will air Tuesday (May 1). “I’m very happy with what I said, and I’m glad I stuck to my guns.” The comedian said she “wasn’t expecting” the level of controversy that has swirled since her hosting performance, but said, “‘I’m also not disappointed there’s this level.”
She continued: “I knew what I was doing going in. I wanted to do something different. I didn’t want to cater to the room. I wanted to cater to the outside audience, and not betray my brand of comedy.” Wolf also said that some of the criticisms of her comments, particularly about Sanders and her “appearance,” were misinformed. “I think they didn’t pay attention to what was said,” she added.
In the interview, the comedian did take another shot at Sanders, pointing out that the press secretary remained seated when journalists — particularly CNN journalists — were presented with awards at the annual dinner on Saturday night.
Under pressure from journalists and members of the organization, Margaret Talev, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, on Sunday (Apr. 29) publicized a letter in which she said that Wolf’s monologue was “not in the spirit” of the dinner, which is put on annually by the group as a celebration of the free press.
Earlier on Monday (Apr. 30), former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told The Hollywood Reporter that his daughter has “moved on” from the controversy. “[Sanders] didn’t go home and cry her eyes out or anything like that. It’s just not who she is,” the television host said.
This article originally appeared on THR.com.