'Daily Show' Star Aasif Mandvi on the Absurdity of the WHCA, DC and Hollywood's Craziness (Video)
The correspondent for the Comedy Central political satire show spoke to THR at the pre-White House Correspondents Association dinner on Friday.
Aasif Mandvi was being kind on Friday night; as one of the top political and social satirists on television, there were targets all around.
Arriving early and staying through the night at THR and Google's Pre-White House Correspondents Dinner Party on Friday, the Daily Show correspondent was willing to give a free pass to the rich and famous that were assembling for a weekend of revelry in Washington, DC.
"We don't really make fun of parties, we don't really make fun of people drinking and having a good time," Mandvi told THR when asked if he felt strange being in the sort of party of which he might make fun. "But there is an element of absurdity to it I guess, the idea of all these journalists and politicians, all hanging out in the same room, getting trashed together, is somewhat absurd."
PHOTOS: THR and Google's White House Correspondents Dinner Pre-Party
Maybe he was being sympathetic; as a comedian, he knows how tough the weekend can be. He said he was looking forward to Jimmy Kimmel's performance hosting the dinner on Saturday, but had no interest in doing it himself.
"I've been here twice now, and this is one of the toughest rooms I've ever seen, so I don't know. I wouldn't want to do this," Mandvi said. "There isn't enough money to pay me to do this."
Still, he couldn't escape the obvious; the weekend was a bit surreal, and representative of two towns known for big personalities.
"Hollywood and DC are both crazy. They're both filled with crazy people, and one of them is full of narcissists," he said. "But I won't tell you which one."
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