As with the chicken or the egg, we’ll never know if Trump eschewing the annual White House Correspondents Dinner was the reason for all the party cancellations surrounding the event or if they would’ve been canceled if the president had shown up anyway.

Media outlets are canceling their annual White House Correspondents Dinner parties left and right in the wake of the Trump presidency. According to Politico, Time and People are joining Vanity Fair and The New Yorker in canceling their yearly fêtes surrounding the event known stupidly as “Nerd Prom.”

Time will still attend the dinner, while People will be making a donation to the White House Correspondents’ Association in lieu of tables at the dinner, a spokesperson said.

“This year we have decided to focus on supporting the White House Correspondents Association, which plays a crucial role in advocating for the broadest possible access for the press at the White House,” Alan Murray, Time Inc. chief content officer said in a statement.

GASP! You mean, you mean they’re just going to do a plain, old awards dinner?

After eight years of fawning coziness between the Obamas administration and the White House press corps, this is honestly a relief. Trump made the right decision in declining to attend the dinner, which would’ve made the entire thing more of a spectacle and debated fiasco than a journalism awards dinner should enjoy. Ever.

This year’s event will get all the attention a dinner recognizing journalists and awarding scholarships deserves, almost none.

As much as journalists claim they only want to bring the news, not be the news, the White House Correspondents Dinner and surrounding events like the ones being canceled has proven how much smoke that sentiment really is for decades now.

Update:

never fear, we patriots at BuzzFeed are continuing our alternative WHCD weekend event (party)

— Katherine Miller (@katherinemiller) March 21, 2017

Whew! Thank you for your service?