Amid rising tensions between the White House Correspondents’ Association and President Donald Trump’s administration, the association has scrapped comedian Amber Ruffin’s scheduled headline act at next month’s annual dinner.
“The WHCA board has unanimously decided we are no longer featuring a comedic performance this year,” WHCA President Eugene Daniels wrote in an email Saturday afternoon to members, comically adding that the event’s “focus is not on the politics of division” but instead on ‘honoring’ the work of journalists who belong to the association.
Despite the statement, the event regularly featured comics who take aim at President Trump and his administration during his first term.
The decision follows an attack by White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich, who criticized the association for choosing to feature Ruffin, a comedian known for her sharp critiques of the administration.
Relations between the WHCA and the White House have worsened amid the Trump administration’s persistent assaults on the press. Recently, the White House announced it would take over organizing the rotating press pool covering the president—a responsibility traditionally handled by the association—and has even barred The Associated Press from its events.
Budowich ripped the WHCA’s statement scrapping Ruffin’s performance, calling it a “cop out.”