News outlets compete for coolest celebrity guest at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
The annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner hasn’t been an essential showcase of comedic majesty since Stephen Colbert hosted it in 2006 and performed what the internet would’ve called an “epic takedown” if it had been around way back then, but the event is still an important opportunity for everyone involved to prove how cool they are. The President gets to make a fun speech, the host gets a rare chance to make political jokes, and the actual correspondents in attendance get to sit next to celebrities who are there for some reason.
Speaking of, the various news outlets involved have really stepped up their celebrity game for this year’s Correspondents’ Dinner, and Deadline has a list of which famous people have been invited by which organizations. It’s a veritable who’s who of celebrities who are all on the same handful of TV shows, with the whole cast of The View, a bunch of people from Scandal, the stars of Broad City, and some non-Kevin Spacey people from House Of Cards all set to appear on TV for a split-second as they chuckle at some great joke about the NSA. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith will be there as well, along with Vivica A. Fox and Jeff Goldblum from Independence Day: Resurgence (a sequel to a Will Smith movie that Will Smith is not in).
This year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner—President Obama’s last one in office—will be held on April 30 and is going to be hosted by Larry Wilmore. You can see the full list of the celebrities who were invited by news outlets below.
Fox News Channel:
Cheryl Boone Isaacs (AMPAS President)
Chris Dodd (MPAA CEO)
Vivica A. Fox (Independence Day: Resurgence)
John Cena (WWE)
Nikki Bella (WWE)
JC Chasez (N’Sync)
Ryan Kwanten (True Blood)
Sela Ward (Independence Day: Resurgence)
Jeff Goldblum (Independence Day: Resurgence)
Cheryl Ladd (Charlie’s Angels)
Gladys Knight
Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys)
Toks Olagundoye (Castle)
ABC News:
Will Smith (Suicide Squad)
Jada Pinkett Smith (Magic Mike XXL)
Shonda Rhimes (Scandal)
Kerry Washington (Scandal)
Tony Goldwyn (Scandal)
Scott Foley (Scandal)
Anthony Anderson (Black-ish)
Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish)
Kenya Barris (Black-ish)
Whoopi Goldberg (The View)
Joy Behar (The View)
Paula Farris (The View)
Raven-Symone (The View)
Michelle Collins (The View)
Thomson Reuters:
Michael Kelly (House Of Cards)
Illana Glazer (Broad City)
Abbi Jacobson (Broad City)
Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey)
Von Miller (Denver Broncos)
Odell Beckham, Jr., (New York Giants)
Christian Broadcasting Networking:
Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House/The View)
Bloomberg:
Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Star Wars: Episode VIII)
NBC News:
Jaime Alexander (Blindspot)
USA Today:
Neve Campbell (House Of Cards)
Rosario Dawson (Daredevil)
Miles Teller (Whiplash)
Kendall Jenner (Keeping Up With The Kardashians)
Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs)
Gabrielle Union (Being Mary Jane)
John Wall (Washington Wizards)
The Wall Street Journal:
Ed Burns (Public Morals)
Christy Turington Burns