Comedy Central’s Larry Wilmore will headline the 2016 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.
Association president Carol Lee, who is also a White House reporter for The Wall Street Journal, made the announcement on Twitter Wednesday.
“Larry’s edgy, even provocative, brand of humor means he’s certainly up to the task of skewering politicians of all ideological stripes, and we don’t expect the nation’s news media to escape unscathed, either,” said Lee in a statement.
Wilmore later tweeted he is “beyond excited” to host the dinner.
As host of The Nightly Show, Wilmore routinely goes after conservative politicians and Christians.
On Monday’s show, Wilmore described Sen. Ted Cruz as “creepy,” while his guest, Aida Rodriguez, said the Republican candidate would “do everything the KKK does” as president.
“Something’s just off about this guy, though. Even behind the scenes,” Wilmore later said of Cruz.
Earlier this month, Wilmore manipulated clips of candidate Carly Fiorina from a “Fox News Sunday” interview to deceive his audience into thinking she referred to the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooter as a “messenger” and a “protester.”
Stephen Colbert, who went after then-President George W. Bush in a mocking 25-minute speech at the 2006 WHCA Dinner, was the last Comedy Central host to take on the gig.
Saturday Night Live cast member Cecily Strong headlined last year’s event.
The Wilmore-hosted annual dinner will be held April 30, 2016.
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