Entertainment
The Correspondents' Dinner Guest List is Insane
It’s the time of year again: The White House Correspondents’ Dinner. It’s when Washington, the news media, and Hollywood get together in one room, and it's a Twitter rant waiting to happen. You could not get a more diverse group of politicians, anchors, actors, and comedians together even if you tried making the Oscars determine the next Presidential election. This year’s gala is being hosted by Joel McHale and it will also celebrate the White House Correspondents’ Association’s 100th anniversary. The fancy affair is meant to recognize the outstanding work done by journalists and news media professionals. The proceeds of the event go towards scholarships for students who excel in the field of journalism.
Over the years, The White House Correspondents’ Dinner has become more of a light-hearted roast that takes jabs at the full spectrum of our media. It’s an occasion for politicians and celebs to rub elbows, make fun of each other, and find themselves being out-done time and time again by our dear POTUS. Considering President Barack Obama has been getting his comedy chops lately with the likes of Zach Galifianakis, it’s almost guaranteed that he will steal the show from McHale and the slew of celebrities who will be attending.
This year’s dinner will be attended by a bevy of film and TV stars who are being invited as guests by various outlets. Let’s take a look at this year’s attendees and try to figure out how they were chosen for this exclusive event.
ABC/Disney
The Guests:
- Tony Goldwyn, Bellamy Young, Darby Stanchfield, Scott Foley, Jeff Perry, Katie Lowes, Guillermo Diaz – Scandal
- Wendi McLendon-Covey — The Goldbergs
- Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sofia Vergara — Modern Family
- Chip Esten — Nashville
Why they were chosen: Because Michelle said so... and Connie Britton was unavailable.
A&E Network
The Guests:
- Willie and Korie Robertson — Duck Dynasty
Why they were chosen: This is a heavy choice considering all of the backlash with Duck Dynasty's recent homophobia controversy. With a POTUS that openly supports LGBTQ rights, maybe A&E is trying to get back into America's good graces. Or maybe Joel McHale needed material.
CBS/CBS News
The Guests:
- Julianna Margulies — The Good Wife
- David McCallum — NCIS
- Brad Paisley — Country musician
- Kimberly Williams-Paisley — Nashville, According To Jim
- Gloria Estefan, singer-songwriter
- Emilio Estefan, songwriter-producer
- Spike Jonze – Her (Director)
- William Bratton, NYPD Commissioner
- Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT
- Rep. Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, R-MI
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-MN
- Sen. Ed Markey, D-MA
Why they were chosen: CBS was going for the "Safe" demographic with Spike Jonze to prove they are "Hip and With It." Go home CBS, it's past your bed time.
CNN
The Guests:
- Gov. & Mrs Chris Christie (NJ)
- Gov. Rick Perry (TX)
- Reince Priebus, RNC
- Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-CA
- Rep. John Dingell & Deborah Dingell, D-MI
- Josh Ernest, The White House
- Mo Elleithee, DNC
- Diane Lane — Unfaithful
Why they were chosen: CNN is trying to annoy Fox News... oh and Diane Lane stars in every single wife of these men's favorite film.
Fox News Channel
The Guests:
Matthew Morrison & Renee Puente — GleeTony Romo (Dallas Cowboys) & Candace RomoPatrick Stewart & Sunny Ozell – X-Men, Star TrekJ.C. Chasez — ‘N SyncJeremy Irvine – War Horse, Railway MenChace Crawford — Gossip GirlRyan Kwanten — True BloodWill Poulter – We’re The MillersRick Springfield, musicianKatherine McPhee — SmashRichard Marx, musician
Why they were chosen: "Okay, get me someone who is LGBTQ-friendly, a Texas football player, a host from whatever show my teenage daughter watches, and seriously just whatever my teenage daughter says." — Fox Executive
NBCUniversal
The Guests:
- Kevin Hart – Ride Along
Why they were chosen: Street cred.
Reuters
The Guests:
- Olivia Munn, The Newsroom
- Ron Dermer, U.S. Ambassador to Israel
- Andrew Luck, (Indianapolis Colts)
- Jack O’Connell — Unbroken, 300: Rise Of An Empire
- Darren Criss — Glee
- Ray Mabus, Secretary of the U.S. Navy
- Madeline Stowe — Revenge
- Jeremy Bird, Democratic political strategist, Ready for Hillary
- Christine Fox, the highest-ranking woman ever at the Pentagon
- Adrian Peterson, (Minnesota Vikings)
Why they were chosen: Millennials.
TIME
The Guests:
- Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years A Slave
Why they were chosen: TIME is so powerful and respected that they only needed ONE person to make everyone else at the gala jealous. They picked the right person.
USA Today
The Guests:
- Rosario Dawson — Sin City: A Dame To Kill For
- Jeff Goldblum — The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Freida Pinto – Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, Slumdog Millionaire
- Josh Gad — Frozen
- Jessica Simpson — The Dukes Of Hazzard
Why they were chosen: Because the blogosphere told them so.
The Washington Post
The Guests:
- Gary Trudeau – Doonesbury creator
Why they were chosen: YOLO.
