White House correspondents’ dinner drops Ruffin’s appearance

The White House Correspondents’ Association has decided to cancel a performance by comedian Amber Ruffin for its annual black-tie dinner on April 26.

“The W.H.C.A. board has unanimously decided we are no longer featuring a comedic performance this year,” the association’s president, Eugene Daniels, said to its members in a message obtained by The New York Times. “At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists.”

The change in direction on Saturday comes one month after Daniels said Ruffin was “the ideal fit for this current political and cultural climate.”

“She has the ability to walk the line between blistering commentary and humor all while provoking her audience to think about the important issues of the day. I’m thrilled and honored she said yes,” the previous announcement read.

President Donald Trump never confirmed if he would attend the dinner after Ruffin called him a “toddler with his pants pulled down.”

On Thursday, Ruffin also made critical comments about the administration during an appearance on a Daily Beast podcast, referring to them as “kind of a bunch of murders.”

Deputy White House Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich responded on X and questioned, “What kind of responsible, sensible journalist would attend something like this?”

Tensions between the White House and reporters have been in the spotlight since Associated Press journalists were barred from attending certain events and the administration started picking and choosing which news outlets were allowed to participate in the presidential press pool.

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