“I got a promise I will not be going to jail.” So began comedian Trevor Noah’s set at the 2022 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the Washington equivalent of a comedy “roast.” With his impunity assured, Noah’s job that night was to continue a long-standing tradition of the yearly gala: to publicly mock the president of the United States. Noah may not have realized it, but his set—with its lighthearted jabs at President Biden’s stalled agenda—tapped into a ritual that long precedes today’s high-society dinners. In medieval and Renaissance courts, it was the role of the jester to mock the king and his noblemen and elicit their laughter. The concept of “jester’s privilege” protected his right to ridicule without facing the chopping block—within reason. This story is from Kinfolk Issue Forty-Five Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 45 Open Books Introducing the literary privilege disclaimer. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Alice Sheppard On dance as a channel to commune with the body—even when it hurts. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Dr. Woo Meet the tattoo artist who's inked LA. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Walt Odets The author and clinical psychologist on why self-acceptance is the key to a gay man's well-being. Arts & Culture Fashion Issue 47 A Picture of Health Xiaopeng Yuan photographs the world’s weirdest wellness cures. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Chani Nicholas and Sonya Passi Inside the astrology company on a mission to prove workplace well-being is more than a corporate tagline.
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Arts & Culture Issue 47 Walt Odets The author and clinical psychologist on why self-acceptance is the key to a gay man's well-being.
Arts & Culture Fashion Issue 47 A Picture of Health Xiaopeng Yuan photographs the world’s weirdest wellness cures.
Arts & Culture Issue 47 Chani Nicholas and Sonya Passi Inside the astrology company on a mission to prove workplace well-being is more than a corporate tagline.
