Wanda Sykes has been tapped to perform at the 2009 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in May, which makes her the first openly gay entertainer to headline the annual event, and the first female comedian to do so since Elayne Boosler in 1993. Sykes, currently the funniest part of The New Adventures of Old Christine, found her way to a career in comedy after deeming the five years she spent working for the NSA too boring (or so she just told the Advocate). In recent years, the correspondents dinner has become increasingly high-profile, most notably with Stephen Colbert’s controversial appearance in 2006. Following that, the White House Correspondents’ Association picked safer acts, like Rich Little in 2007 and Craig Ferguson last year (a clip of her riffing on Ferguson’s Late Late Show, after the jump.)
I’m crazy about Sykes. I think her stand-up is gold, her frequent late night .appearances never disappoint, and for a relatively stodgy, self-congratulatory affair, she’s just what the C-SPAN doctors ordered. Who else thinks putting her on the bill instantly makes the Correspondents’ Association dinner a must-see?
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A radiant Jennifer Hudson took home three trophies at last night’s 
