Saturday night, the population of Washington DC was appropriately perfumed, primped, and blow-dried as it prepared for the White House Correspondents Association annual dinner. Joe Biden was decked out in his Sunday best, Obama was well prepared to deliver a “mic-dropping” final WHCD monologue, and (some) celebrities were out in force to show support for denizens of the “other” Hollywood.
But while– at the start of President Obama’s administration –the parade down the WHCD red carpet might have rivaled even the best awards show lineup, this year, the star-power was decidedly dimmed. Among the A-list for the 2009 and 2010 events were none other than George Clooney, Stephen Spielberg, Reese Witherspoon, Charlize Theron, Viola Davis, Stevie Wonder, Sean Penn, Anna Paquin, JJ Abrams, Judd Apatow, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Upton, Goldie Hawn, Jon Hamm, John Legend and the Coen Brothers.
Instead, Saturday night had a lesser Kardashian. Okay, a Jenner. But not the Jenner. And a bevvy of reality television stars, “models,” and bottom-level television stars took the place of the glitterati. If you were casting for a Hollywood blockbuster, your options would have been limited. But if you were casting for Dancing With the Stars, you could have easily picked up a full slate of contestants.
There were a few highlights (even if they weren’t as high as in years past), of course:
Jeff Goldblum
A self-described “CNN junkie,” the Independence Day star spent the evening taking pictures with his favorite talking heads. But aside from bit parts and an Apartments.com commercial, Goldblum has been mostly out of sight for the last decade. Which might explain why he still likes politics.
Kendall Jenner
She’s probably the most normal of the Kardashian-Jenner clan – what with her own job and all (she’s an international runway model and muse for the likes of Karl Lagerfeld) – but Kendall Jenner isn’t Kim Kardashian, who attended back in 2012. She’s also not the most of-the-moment Jenner; that title belongs to her parent, Caitlyn Jenner.
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith
The two didn’t walk the Oscars red carpet after launching a mostly unsuccessful boycott, so the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner red carpet would have to do this year. The Concussion star and his wife (and Suicide Squad co-star Jared Leto) were the night’s star power. Sorry.
Kerry Washington
Normally, the Scandal star would probably be big news on a red carpet, but Kerry Washington shows up in so many campaign commercials, she could almost release them as a full series on Netflix. She’s as familiar to politicos as Rosario Dawson, who also showed up last night – and not, oddly, to protest.
J. C. Chasez
In J.C. Chasez’s defense, his timing couldn’t have been more perfect: given the date, the man could have made “It’s gonna be May” jokes until he ran out of people to buy him drinks. But, they’d also have to remember that he was in a band called *NSYNC and that he used to be more famous (Adriana Lima might be more recognizable face in the photo).
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is definitely A-list, but aside from him and Dame Helen Mirren (who slayed in a purple gown and body art in honor of Prince), the Hollywood top tier were hard to find. Of course, Morgan Freeman is more closely aligned with politics these days, especially if you live in an important primary state: he’s narrating Hillary Clinton’s life story in a 30-second ad spot that’s been airing cross-country.
The Cast of Spotlight
They’ve been everywhere, so why not the White House Correspondents dinner? By now, you know the story: intrepid reporters uncover a web of intrigue in Boston, covering up a massive sex scandal in the Catholic Church. And you know the faces, including Rachel McAdams’s and Mark Ruffalo’s. And you know the reporters. And you know they’re all very proud of their work. We can give Rachel and Mark a little more time to bask in their glory, but it’s been months already.
Miles Teller
It took two rounds of Googling and a discussion with a tween relative before being able to determine that Miles Teller, star of the Divergent series of movies, was not the full name of Teller, the magician and half of the Vegas duo Penn & Teller. You might recognize this Teller from the movie Whiplash – he was the kid drumming until his fingers bled – or from the occasional article in Seventeen magazine, if you happen to work your way through the outdated stack of National Geographic at the dentist’s office.
Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer
The stars of Broad City were on hand, perhaps to discuss the merits of widespread drug legalization. If you don’t know them, it might be because you’re tuned out of popular culture, or over the age of 25, but the two are most popular for coining popular Internet phrases and being a key – if unintentional – part of Hillary Clinton’s Millennial outreach program.
NeNe Leakes and Omarosa
Reality television creeps ever closer to the reality of politics.
If you want to see real star power these days, you’ll have to shell out big bucks to attend a Hollywood fundraiser, particularly a Democratic one. Whether through disappointment or boredom, celebrities seem to have moved on from the Obama White House.
