Sykes Walks Thin Line to Obama Roast

Wanda Sykes is getting ready for what could be the toughest gig of her life: the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, attended by the president. Not particularly political, Sykes will be roasting a president who’s posed a challenge for her fellow comedians in front of an audience Bill Maher calls “the worst, most uptight crowd in the world,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

At recent shows, Sykes has worked in some presidential material. “With a black president, we’ve got to come up with a new excuse," she told one crowd. “Can’t blame The Man, when you are The Man.” The dinner, set for May 9, has been attended by every president since 1924; some 2,500 guests will be watching Sykes, and the event will be shown live on C-SPAN. (More President Obama stories.)