White House Correspondents’ Dinner fires Amber Ruffin

The White House Correspondents Association discards traditional things Comedy Part of the annual dinner marks an impressive departure from decades-long practice of balancing press freedom Political satire.

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The decision was made by the Trump White House. mediaand a few weeks later, the WHCA announced that queer comedian and Emmy-nominated author Amber Rafin would be the headline for the April 26th event. Washington DC

WHCA President Eugene Daniels shared the update in a letter to the White House press squad on Saturday.

“In this consequential moment of journalism, I would like to focus entirely on not just on the politics of division, but on awarding outstanding work to colleagues and providing scholarships and guidance to the next generation of journalists,” Daniels wrote. He added that this year’s event reflects a “reconstruction of our dinner tradition.” He said the decision to cancel the comedy was unanimous among board members. Daniels covered the White House Politicsrecently hosted on MSNBC, where he also serves as a senior correspondent in Washington.

Related: Amber Ruffin from the headline of the 2025 White House correspondent dinner. But will Trump be present?

Daniels, who is gay, did not elaborate further when he reached it. Supporters.

Ruffin recently appeared on a podcast under Trump’s second season, describing the current political environment as “roller coaster” and “unusual.”

In response, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budwich assaulted Ruffin and the WHCA on Friday by assaulting X (formerly Twitter). “This year’s @WHCA dinner will be hosted by a second-rate comedian who previews the event by calling this administration “I want to feel like a human,” but you shouldn’t feel that way because you’re not.” “What kind of responsible, wise journalists will attend this? More importantly, what kind of companies will sponsor events that affect such hateful violence?”

Following the WHCA decision, April Ryan, Grio’s longtime White House correspondent and award-winning journalist who served a three-year term on the WHCA board in 2011, shared an emotional message directed at Ruffin on Instagram.

Speaking to “one black woman to another black woman,” Ryan said he was furious at how the situation was treated. She said that Ruffin had been publicly accepted as a dinner entertainer a few weeks ago, but was only publicly removed.

While making it clear that she is not part of the board’s current decision, Ryan expressed deep sympathy, saying that Ruffin was unfairly captured during the midst of a wider fight between the WHCA and the Trump White House.

“I’m here to tell you: I’m sorry. I’ll apologize,” Ryan said. “You didn’t deserve this.”

WHCA Dinners have been held annually since 1921. Since 1983, it has usually featured a roast of comedies from a sitting president and his administration.

In February, WHCA was released as a queer at the end of the show. Pride Month It will serve as the special entertainer of the year last year. Daniels I admired her at the time As “The Perfect Fit,” someone who can induce thoughtful involvement with serious issues while providing “fearing commentary and humor.”

As of Saturday afternoon, Ruffin had not responded. SupportersRequests for comments or see if she would show up for dinner in any capacity.

This change happens when the Trump administration continues to take steps to undermine the free press. Recently, the White House has banned its administration from now suing its administration from covering the president’s events against the refusal of outlets that refused to use the administration’s preferred term “American Gulf” to describe the Gulf of Mexico.

The Associated Press lawsuit denies the White House “point discrimination” and promotes organizations for not using the political language they want, raising serious First Amendment concerns. In testimony, the AP journalist said the ban severely hindered its ability to cover breaking news, sacrificing a $150,000 advertising contract and chilling the tone of questions asked by other members of the press.

The Trump White House also took steps to seize control of membership in the press pool, traditionally managed by the WHCA. Washington, D.C., US District Judge Trevor N. McFadden has not yet ruled.

In recent weeks, the administration has added pro-Trump outlets such as Newsmax and The Blaze to Pools Pool while banning not only the Associated Press but also Reuters. meanwhile, President Donald Trump He has published the AP as “radical left madman,” and says the ban “until the time they agree to be the Gulf of America.”

The WHCA leadership was pushed back with force. Daniels was the first black man, and was openly at first. LGBTQ+The people leading the association accused them of managing their attempts to adopt independent reporting for the presidency.

Trump was famous for offending him when he was roasted by the then president at WHCA dinner in 2011 Barack Obama However, those who refused to attend his first semester are not planning to attend dinner. It’s unlikely that the management staff will also go there.

Supporters We contacted White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt for comments.

Editor’s Note: Christopher Wiggins, author of this story, is a member of the White House Correspondents Association.