Celebrities rub elbows with top lawmakers for White House Correspondents’ weekend
Emily Jacobs
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Leading lawmakers, top celebrities, and loads of other famous faces have descended on Washington DC for the biggest social weekend of the year.
Leading names in and out of journalism gathered for a weekend of exclusive, invite-only events centering around the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday evening. This year’s dinner is being headlined by President Joe Biden and comedian Roy Wood Jr.
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Notable attendees seen mingling with government officials and journalists at the black-tie event include WNBA star Brittney Griner, the stars of Bravo’s hit reality series Vanderpump Rules, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, NBA star and human rights activist Enes Kanter Freedom, actress Julia Fox, comedian Billy Eichner, music producer Tiësto, Live with Kelly and Mark hosts Kelly Ripa and Marc Consuelous, Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan, and model Winnie Harlow.
Saturday evening’s dinner is far from the only invite DC elites fought to get their hands on. The weekend, which has grown in extravagance over the last decade or so, now begins on Thursday night with a series of invite-only bashes.
On Friday evening alone, there were at least eight major parties thrown by groups ranging from news outlets to talent agencies. Unless you’re a famous face, it’s a tough sell to get your name on the list for any of them. VIPs seen out-and-about at Friday’s festivities included First Lady Jill Biden and her daughter Ashley rubbing elbows with Democratic lawmakers like Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) at the Elle Women of Impact event, Gayle King at the Google-sponsored Politics & Inclusion dinner, and recently ousted CNN anchor Don Lemon chatting up former colleagues and other A-listers at the United Talent Agency bash in Georgetown.
Axios’s LiveNation-sponsored party was also a difficult invite to snag, as was Semafor’s, which took place at the home of founder Justin B. Smith.
Saturday began with the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual Garden Brunch, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. Top spottings at the picturesque affair were Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, journalist Kara Swisher, NBCUniversal president Ceser Conde, CNN CEO Chris Licht, Naomi Biden, the president’s granddaughter, and her husband Peter Neal.
A number of news outlets even had pre-dinner parties set up for early Saturday evening, including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and ABC News. CBS and Politico hosted a similar reception together.
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Not all attendees this weekend were welcome, however. Climate change protesters did their best to disrupt the weekend’s main event, blocking traffic outside the Kalorama-based Washington Hilton where the Correspondents Dinner has been held for decades to prevent guests from getting inside.
The protesters were briefly joined by Tennessee state Reps. Justin J. Pearson and Justin Jones, the lawmakers who were temporarily expelled from the state legislature for protesting gun violence. The two men were guests at the dinner, and went inside after their short appearance.