The Association of Correspondents of the White House announced on Saturday that its annual dinner will not feature the actor Amber Ruffin, almost two months after announcing it as its selection.
In fact, this year’s show will have no comic performance.
Eugene Daniels, president of the WHCA, told members that the association’s board of directors had voted unanimously to remove the comic performance of the April 26 event.
Amber Ruffin attended the premiere of season 2 of season 2 of Netflix at the DGA Theater, March 26, 2025, in New York.
Images Jamie McCarthy / Getty
“At that time consecutive for journalism, I want to make sure that the emphasis is not placed on division policy, but entirely to the granting of our colleagues for their exceptional work and to provide scholarships and mentoring to the next generation of journalists,” he said.
Daniels, who did not mention Ruffin by his name in the memo, said that the board of directors provided for “replenishment of our dinner”, adding that he will reveal more details later.
Ruffin, who organized a talk show on Peacock and was a longtime writer and performer of “Late Night With Seth Meyers”, did not immediately comment on the cancellation of its performance, which the WHCA announced in February. She has long falsified and had a pleasure in Washington Politics, in particular the Trump administration, during its routines.
Amber Ruffin attended the premiere of season 2 of season 2 of Netflix at the DGA Theater on March 26, 2025 in New York.
Images Jamie McCarthy / Getty
Ruffin spoke of his preparation for the event in a podcast This week with the Daily Beast.
“News occur at such a scary clip that how are we supposed to reach this mobile target?” She said.
“I love to laugh at things when they become terrible,” she added. “You can’t help laughing.”
President Donald Trump speaks during a reception celebrating the month in the history of women in the east room of the White House, on March 26, 2025, in Washington.
Mandel and / AFP
When the WHCA announced that Ruffin was the feature of this year’s dinner, Daniels said in a statement that its “unique talents are suitable for this current political and cultural climate”.
“His perspective will be perfectly written in the tradition of dinner to honor press freedom while roasting the most powerful people on all sides of the aisle and the journalists who cover them,” added Daniels.
The annual charity dinner has taken place since 1921 and presents artists who make fun of current events and politics, often with jokes on the political actors present.
President Donald Trump never attended dinner during his duties, and he and his staff frequently criticized the WHCA and the former actors who organized dinner.
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Information Salle of the White House in Washington, March 26, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein / Reuters
Although Trump did not indicate if he would attend this year’s dinner, the press secretary of the White House, Karoline Leavitt, said on “The Sean Spicer Show” two weeks ago that she would not assist.
“It is a group of journalists who have been covering the White House for decades,” she said. “They started this organization because the presidents at the time did not make enough press conferences. I no longer think that we have this problem under this president.”
Karen Travers of ABC News contributed to this report.
