Obama administration distances itself from comedian Sykes' 9/11 joke

Washington, may 12 (ANI): President Obama smiled at the time, but the White House declared Monday there was nothing funny about comic Wanda Sykes joking about 9/11.

Sykes skewered Rush Limbaugh at the White House Correspondents' Dinner Saturday - likening the conservative talk show king to Osama bin Laden.

"I think there are a lot of topics that are better left for serious reflection rather than comedy," Fox News quoted White House press secretary Robert Gibbs as saying Monday.

"I think there's no doubt that 9/11 is part of that," he added.

Sykes began her riff by branding as "treason" Limbaugh's oft-repeated hope that Obama "fails."

"He's not saying anything differently than what Osama bin Laden is saying," she said. "I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight."

That brought groans and guffaws from the crowd while Obama smiled nervously and took a sip from his glass.

Limbaugh ignored Sykes Monday on his radio show, and she also kept mum.

But earlier, Sykes took offense that she was warned "not to say the F-word or the N-word" before her bit. "They really think I was going to say that to the President?," she told "Extra." (ANI)