Comedian Amber Ruffin claimed on Saturday that the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) canceled her appearance at their annual dinner after she criticized the Trump administration. Ruffin made the statement during an appearance on CNN’s comedy show Have I Got News for You.
Host Roy Wood Jr. asked Ruffin about a memo from WHCA president Eugene Daniels, which revealed that the board had unanimously decided to cancel her performance as part of a “re-envisioning” of the event’s tradition. Wood speculated that Ruffin might have been removed because she was planning to target Republicans during her performance, a suggestion Ruffin confirmed.
Ruffin explained, “I lost the gig because I was out here talking sh–. I think it’s a good thing that I lost the gig because I wasn’t going to show up and pretend to play nice.” She continued, noting that when she was first hired, there was an expectation to treat both sides equally. However, she said the Trump administration’s actions, such as deportations and civil rights rollbacks, made it impossible for her to perform in that way.
Ruffin called the cancellation a “blessing in disguise,” saying she would have regretted following through with the appearance. She argued that doing so would have compromised her values.
Ruffin had made similar remarks on The Daily Beast Podcast last month, calling members of the Trump administration “murderers” and refusing to treat them the same as Democrats. She stated, “There’s no way I’m going to be doing that, dude. Under no circumstances.”
The WHCA’s decision came a day after White House aide Taylor Budowich criticized the association for hiring Ruffin, calling her comments “hate-filled” and accusing her of promoting violence. On social media, Budowich wrote, “What kind of responsible journalist would attend something like this? More importantly, what kind of company would sponsor such an event?”
