diff --git a/rclcpp/src/rclcpp/event_handler.cpp b/rclcpp/src/rclcpp/event_handler.cpp
index d4b4d57b08..804146d4d7 100644
--- a/rclcpp/src/rclcpp/event_handler.cpp
+++ b/rclcpp/src/rclcpp/event_handler.cpp
@@ -39,6 +39,15 @@ UnsupportedEventTypeException::UnsupportedEventTypeException(
 
 EventHandlerBase::~EventHandlerBase()
 {
+  // Since the rmw event listener holds a reference to
+  // this callback, we need to clear it on destruction of this class.
+  // This clearing is not needed for other rclcpp entities like pub/subs, since
+  // they do own the underlying rmw entities, which are destroyed
+  // on their rclcpp destructors, thus no risk of dangling pointers.
+  if (on_new_event_callback_) {
+    clear_on_ready_callback();
+  }
+
   if (rcl_event_fini(&event_handle_) != RCL_RET_OK) {
     RCUTILS_LOG_ERROR_NAMED(
       "rclcpp",