Who is Roy Wood Jr.? White House Correspondents’ Dinner host's insensitive school shooting joke sparks backlash

Roy Wood Jr. recently hosted the White House Correspondent's Dinner, which was held at the Hilton Ballroom in Washington, D.C, on April 29. The standup comedian has now come under hot waters as he offended the masses with his “inappopriate” jokes at the event.

He joked about the school shootings to defend Drag Queens, which brewed controversy on social media. In a viral clip from the event, Roy Wood Jr. can be heard saying:

“And also, speaking of Drag Queens, Drag Queens are not at a school to groom your kids. Stop it. And even if they were, most of them kids don’t get shot at school.”

Wood Jr. also fired jokes at Tucker Carlon, the exit of Don Lemon, and even Kamala Harris.

The dinner was attended by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

Roy Wood is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, and correspondent. Having started his career with comedy, he was featured in NBC’s Last Comic Standing and grew to fame with the reality television series.

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"Cringe": Roy Wood under fire for his inappropriate school shooting joke

Wood's joke about school shootings has sparked outrage, with many calling it insensitive and inappropriate. Others also pointed out how there was “awkward silence” just after the jokes, and it did not seem to sit too well with the audience.

As the Twitter account @EndWokeness shared the clip, here is how social media users reacted:

Social media users outraged as Wood joked inappropriately about school shootings at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. (Image via Twitter)

Social media users outraged as Wood joked inappropriately about school shootings at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. (Image via Twitter)

Social media users outraged as Wood joked inappropriately about school shootings at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. (Image via Twitter)

Social media users outraged as Wood joked inappropriately about school shootings at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. (Image via Twitter)

Social media users outraged as Wood joked inappropriately about school shootings at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. (Image via Twitter)

As many social media users claimed that it is “shameful” that Wood chose to joke about something like this, there has not been any response from the comedian’s end about the whole controversy.

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Roy Wood Jr. has received several accolades over the years

Roy Wood Jr., born in December 1978, is known for being the correspondent on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. The comedian, who was born in Birmingham, graduated from Ramsay High School and later began his career in stand-up comedy. Furthermore, he was also employed as the head writer at the WBHJ radio series, Buckwilde Morning Show.

Later, he moved on to working with NBC for their show Last Comic Standing. He was also seen and loved on his own morning show, The Roy Wood Jr Show. For his work over the years, he has received many accolades, including a mention in the 12 Rising Stars of Comedy by Entertainment Weekly.

Roy Wood Jr was born to Roy Wood Sr. and Joyce Dugan Wood. His father was an African-American journalist, and his half-brother, Roy L. Wood, is also a news anchor.