The White House Correspondents’ Association is once again ditching its tradition of having a comedian perform at its annual dinner and tapped mentalist Oz Pearlman to be the entertainment at the April 25 event.
Mr. Pearlman, who performs mind reading, magic and other tricks, has gone viral on TikTok and YouTube with his exploits. He’s a frequent guest on CNBC and Fox News and made headlines last year when he appeared to correctly guess podcaster Joe Rogan’s ATM PIN number.
“As the world’s most celebrated mentalist, Oz Pearlman will offer a fascinating glimpse into what’s truly on the minds of Washington’s newsmakers,” Weijia Jiang, president of the association, said in a statement. “We look forward to an exciting, fresh, and interactive evening as we celebrate the First Amendment and Washington news coverage together.”
Mr. Pearlman, an Emmy Award winner and bestselling author, said he looks forward to performing at the Washington Hilton event.
“I am thrilled to be the featured entertainer at this year’s WHCA dinner and join the ranks of Frank Sinatra, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, among many other legends,” Mr. Pearlman said in a statement. “This is a rare opportunity to gather so many accomplished, perceptive people in one place and invite them to share moments of wonder, surprise and awe.”
The association, which represents journalists who cover the White House, including those at The Washington Times, tapped comedian Amber Ruffin to perform at last year’s dinner.
However, they abruptly canceled her appearance, saying the dinner should be focused “not on the politics of division, but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists.”
Hence, the dinner took place without an entertainer.
In 2019, the association selected historian Ron Chernow to speak at the dinner a year after comedian Michelle Wolfe bothered some with scathing jokes about President Trump and members of his administration.
After COVID canceled the 2020 and 2021 dinners, comics Trevor Noah, Roy Wood Jr. and Colin Jost performed consecutively.
The White House has not said if Mr. Trump will attend this year’s dinner. He has skipped the event throughout his presidency.
