--- title: White House Correspondents' Dinner: Obama Nails Key and Peele Skit description: He got some help from Luther, his anger translator canonical: https://time.com/3835819/white-house-correspondents-dinner-obama-key-peele/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-26T03:39:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:23.665Z article:section: Politics og:title: Watch Obama Nail a 'Key and Peele' Skit at the White House Correspondents' Dinner og:description: He got some help from Luther, his anger translator og:url: https://time.com/3835819/white-house-correspondents-dinner-obama-key-peele/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75e61407bc1e6735/6987ece9cd1bba2da96f924b/president-obama-key-and-peele-whcd.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Barack Obama Addresses White House Correspondents Dinner og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Obama Nail a 'Key and Peele' Skit at the White House Correspondents' Dinner twitter:description: He got some help from Luther, his anger translator twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75e61407bc1e6735/6987ece9cd1bba2da96f924b/president-obama-key-and-peele-whcd.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Obama Perfectly Nail a _Key and Peele Skit_ at the White House Correspondents' Dinner  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Apr 26, 2015 3:39 AM CUT  The presidents translator, Luther, as portrayed by comedian Keegan-Michael Key, gestures as President Barack Obama speaks at the annual White House Correspondent's Association Gala at the Washington Hilton hotel April 25, 2015 in Washington, D.C. The presidents translator, Luther, as portrayed by comedian Keegan-Michael Key, gestures as President Barack Obama speaks at the annual White House Correspondent's Association Gala at the Washington Hilton hotel April 25, 2015 in Washington, D.C.Olivier Douliery—Pool via Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Apr 26, 2015 3:39 AM CUT The highlight of [President Obama’s speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner](http://time.com/3835776/white-house-correspondents-dinner-president-obama-cecily-strong-whcd/ "undefined") on Saturday was when Keegan-Michael Key of Comedy Central’s _Key & Peele_ made a surprise appearance as Luther, the President’s anger translator. Playing a character he originated on the sketch comedy show, Key “translated” Obama’s mild-mannered speech into an angry rant, warning the audience to “hold on to your lily-white butts.” At one point, when Obama was discussing Hillary Clinton’s 2016 candidacy, Key interjected, “Khaleesi is coming to Westeros.” But by the time he started talking about climate change, Obama let himself get riled up. That was Luther’s cue: “With all due respect sir, you don’t need an anger translator, you need counseling.” On his way out, he shared a moment with Michelle Obama, during which they seemed to agree the President was “crazy.” ### See the Celebrities at the White House Correspondents' Dinner  Laverne Cox Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Jane Fonda Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Chrissy Teigen Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Actor Michael Kelly and wife, Karyn. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Actress Megan Boone Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Martha Stewart Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  TV personality Maria Menounos Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Actress Michelle Monaghan Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson and his husband Justin Mikita Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Actress Gillian Jacobs Larry Busacca—Getty Images  Actress Tracee Ellis Ross Nicholas Kamm—AFP/Getty Images  Actor Marcus Johns Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Aimee Mullins and Rupert Friend Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Constance Zimmer Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Actress Lucy Liu Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Actress Ashley Judd jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Idina Menzel Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Chanel Iman Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Connie Britton Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Hannah Davis Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Sophia Bush Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Cecily Strong Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Ivanka Trump Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Actor Eric Stonestreet Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Adriana Lima Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Actress Julie Bowen Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and his wife, Candice. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Actress Jane Seymour Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Author and Editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Actress and singer Naya Rivera Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Actress Tracee Ellis Ross Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Actress Alfre Woodard Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Actor Anthony Anderson Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Meagan Camper and musician Pete Wentz Michael Loccisano—Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3835819/white-house-correspondents-dinner-obama-key-peele/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3835819/white-house-correspondents-dinner-obama-key-peele/"},"headline":"Watch Obama Perfectly Nail a Key and Peele Skit at the White House Correspondents' Dinner","datePublished":"2015-04-26T03:39:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:23.665Z","description":"He got some help from Luther, his anger translator","url":"https://time.com/3835819/white-house-correspondents-dinner-obama-key-peele/","keywords":["White House","President Obama","White House Correspondents Dinner"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75e61407bc1e6735/6987ece9cd1bba2da96f924b/president-obama-key-and-peele-whcd.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75e61407bc1e6735/6987ece9cd1bba2da96f924b/president-obama-key-and-peele-whcd.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Barack Obama Addresses White House Correspondents Dinner","caption":"Barack Obama Addresses White House Correspondents Dinner","creditText":"Olivier Douliery—Pool via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3835819/white-house-correspondents-dinner-obama-key-peele/","name":"Watch Obama Perfectly Nail a Key and Peele Skit at the White House Correspondents' Dinner"}}]}] ```