Amber Ruffin, cut from White House correspondents dinner, will host PEN America gala

NEW YORK (AP) — Comic Amber Ruffin has a new spring gig.

PEN America told The Associated Press on Monday that Ruffin will host the free expression organization's gala fundraiser on May 15. The comic had been scheduled as a featured speaker April 26 at the White House Correspondents Association' s annual dinner. But the WHCA rescinded the offer to Ruffin, a blunt critic of President Donald Trump, saying it wanted to focus on journalistic achievement.

In a statement Monday, PEN co-interim CEO Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf praised Ruffin for her “brilliant social commentary, her satire and exceptional talent.”

“She is truly emblematic of the talented creators who we need on stages and in writers’ rooms during a time of unprecedented censorship in this country. We’re both delighted and honored to have her with us," Shariyf added.

PEN also announced Monday that Wesleyan University President Michael Roth will receive the PEN/Benenson Courage Award for “his unwavering commitment to defending academic freedom, protecting protest rights, and resisting attempts to silence dissent in higher education.” Roth has repeatedly criticized the Trump administration's threats to end research funding for Columbia University, Harvard University and other schools, with issues cited ranging from fighting antisemitism to whether transgender athletes can participate in sports.

Ruffin, whose credits include writing for NBC’s Seth Meyers, last year's host for the PEN gala, has said she was cut from the WCHA event after telling organizers that she had no intentions of being evenhanded. During a Daily Beast podcast last month, Ruffin said she was told “you need to be equal and be sure that you give it to both sides and I was like, ‘There’s no way that’s going to happen.'"

Taylor Budowich, a deputy chief of staff at the White House, has called Ruffin a “second-rate comedian."