WATCH: De Blasio, Reporters Joke At Annual NYC Inner Circle Show
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio poked fun at himself Saturday night -- from his liberal policies to his penchant for tardiness -- at the annual Inner Circle charity show.
The show is New York's answer to the White House Correspondents Dinner, where politicians, reporters and the city's power brokers rub shoulders during a charity dinner. The highlight each year is the mayor's performance, which serves as a rebuttal of sorts to the reporters' show, which opens the night by skewering the mayor and other city and state elected officials.
In the first act of the evening, reporters poked fun at the year de Blasio had. They ribbed his manhandling last year of Staten Island Chuck, the groundhog that later died, and his issues with the police. In one sketch, actors dressed in NYPD uniforms pretended to moon the mayor.
Much of de Blasio's act mocked his liberal agenda, including universal prekindergarten and a new relaxed marijuana policy. He also poked fun at rumors of the mayor's marijuana use, quipping that he and his wife, Chirlane McCray, used celery every day at 4:20 p.m.
Louis C.K. joined the mayor on stage at the beginning of his skit. The comedian provided a "translation" (often vulgar) of the mayor's comments, making fun of the press, the governor and the voters.
A year ago, in de Blasio's first Inner Circle as mayor, he delivered a winning performance in which he enlisted celebrity friends such as Steve Buscemi and Cynthia Nixon to gamely make fun of his tendency to be tardy, his struggle with managing a snowstorm and his reliance on his family during his mayoral campaign.
De Blasio's performance was again a skit-filled, low-frills affair. That stands in stark contrasts to the outlandish performances put on by his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, who used some of his own fortune to hire a Broadway cast each year and put on elaborate, music-filled shows.
One year, Bloomberg wore a harness, flying 20 feet in the air while dressed as Spiderman. Other noteworthy previous mayoral performances included Rudolph Giuliani donning drag and Ed Koch stepping out of the mouth of a man-eating plant.
The black-tie event is expected to raise about $100,000 for various city charities.
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