Jon Stewart has defended journalists who are choosing to attend the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. The former Daily Show host has taken a different line to many - who have called for the annual event, which pulls together journalists, politicians and celebrities in aid of charity, to be boycotted.
The dinner, which has taken place since 1921, is known for its comedic turns, and also for the event in 2011 when Barack Obama teased a certain Donald Trump about his "birther" claims.
The first WHCA dinner of the Trump administration will take place on April 29, and many are wondering who will turn up. The Guardian has already said it won't be sending a journalist, while Vanity Fair has pulled out of hosting an after-party.
“I think it’ll be entertaining,” Stewart told TMZ, after being asked about the suggestions of a boycott. “Look, it’s still a good cause,”
The comedian, who headlined the dinner in 1997 added: "The scholarships that they provide at that dinner, what they’re raising money for, is still a good cause."
He continued: “People got to follow their hearts, got to follow their conscience. Listen, whether or not people go to the Correspondents’ dinner is clearly not the most pressing issue facing us these days."
However, he will not be in attendance.
