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| White House Correspondents' dinner live: Obama welcomes celebrities, reporters | White House Correspondents' dinner live: Obama welcomes celebrities, reporters |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 1.17am BST | |
| 01:17 | |
| And if you’re wondering why people call it “nerd prom”, they cribbed it from now-MTV news correspondent (and former Guardian columnist) Ana Marie Cox, who wasn’t being exactly kind when she coined it. | |
| Now, it’s used as a humble-brag, like “Oh, ho, aren’t I nerdy, here’s my selfie with Will Smith”; then, it was a way of mocking the annual desperation to get included on the guest list. | |
| Cox reportedly regrets having coined the term. | |
| Sigh. True. https://t.co/urY0Rl7Qhu | |
| Here is Will Smith taking a selfie of himself with the photographers taking pictures of him. | |
| 1.07am BST | |
| 01:07 | |
| If you’re curious about how the White House Correspondents’ Dinner went from being a self-congratulatory scholarship-awarding dinner to a self-congratulatory, celebrity-spotting spectacle, some more information on that can be found here. | |
| Related: White House correspondents' dinner: star power, but according to who? | |
| 12.48am BST | |
| 00:48 | |
| Gary the Dog steals the show at the White House Correspondents' Dinner | |
| Carrie Fisher, attending the dinner as a guest of The Guardian, created the biggest red carpet stir by bringing her dog, Gary. | |
| .@twhiddleston, @carrieffisher's & @Gary_TheDog on #WHCD Red Carpet https://t.co/HrRHIJ8Jn1 #NerdProm #WHCD2016https://t.co/98lhCgSem2 | |
| As you may have heard, dogs don’t really like to be hugged by their owners, according to “science” but, since this is America and, in the current political climate, only uncontroversial science is accepted as fact (as demonstrated by climate denialism), it’s unclear how much of a difference any scientific findings will make to dog-owners. | |
| 12.39am BST | 12.39am BST |
| 00:39 | 00:39 |
| The red carpet is wrapping up as the stragglers head into the dinner, but we’ll continue to find something to cover (I hear there are other things happening in the world?) as the 2,700 guests tuck into their diver scallops, steak, shrimp, dessert and – according to C-Span – Napa Valley wines. | The red carpet is wrapping up as the stragglers head into the dinner, but we’ll continue to find something to cover (I hear there are other things happening in the world?) as the 2,700 guests tuck into their diver scallops, steak, shrimp, dessert and – according to C-Span – Napa Valley wines. |
| Meanwhile, here are The Guardian’s guests, Tom Hiddleston, Carrie Fisher and Gary the dog, posing on the red carpet. (C-Span assures us that Gary was very popular on Twitter.) | Meanwhile, here are The Guardian’s guests, Tom Hiddleston, Carrie Fisher and Gary the dog, posing on the red carpet. (C-Span assures us that Gary was very popular on Twitter.) |
| 12.29am BST | 12.29am BST |
| 00:29 | 00:29 |
| Just now on C-Span, People editor JD Heyman on celebrities and their causes. | Just now on C-Span, People editor JD Heyman on celebrities and their causes. |
| And I think it’s a natural impulse on the part of very wealthy people and powerful people to want to be engaged in that way [with a cause]. So I think it’s both for public image reasons and financial management reasons and just human reasons that people become involved in either political or environmental or other work related to causes. I know that most Americans may raise an eyebrow about the causes of some celebrities, but many of them feel the causes quite profoundly and do want to engage and feel like, you know, noblesse does not come without oblige and they should do something with their celebrity and their resources. | And I think it’s a natural impulse on the part of very wealthy people and powerful people to want to be engaged in that way [with a cause]. So I think it’s both for public image reasons and financial management reasons and just human reasons that people become involved in either political or environmental or other work related to causes. I know that most Americans may raise an eyebrow about the causes of some celebrities, but many of them feel the causes quite profoundly and do want to engage and feel like, you know, noblesse does not come without oblige and they should do something with their celebrity and their resources. |
| Here is a picture of Kendall Jenner, of the Kardashian Jenners, arriving at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which is dedicated to the important role the fourth estate plays in holding the executive branch of the US government to account. | Here is a picture of Kendall Jenner, of the Kardashian Jenners, arriving at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which is dedicated to the important role the fourth estate plays in holding the executive branch of the US government to account. |
| 12.17am BST | 12.17am BST |
| 00:17 | 00:17 |
| The dinner is, as you can imagine, not without its critics. | The dinner is, as you can imagine, not without its critics. |
| New York City-based photographer Clayton Cubitt, a Bernie Sanders supporter, is among them. | New York City-based photographer Clayton Cubitt, a Bernie Sanders supporter, is among them. |
| The White House Correspondents Dinner is the grossest spectacle of oligarchic incest since the Borgia papacy. | The White House Correspondents Dinner is the grossest spectacle of oligarchic incest since the Borgia papacy. |
| You can see some of hits Vets4Bernie portraits here: | You can see some of hits Vets4Bernie portraits here: |
| Related: #Vets4Bernie: veterans speak out in support of Bernie Sanders – in pictures | Related: #Vets4Bernie: veterans speak out in support of Bernie Sanders – in pictures |
| So is Tressie McMillan Cottom, an assistant professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University. | So is Tressie McMillan Cottom, an assistant professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University. |
| The WHCD is a very strange world with very strange bedfellows. | The WHCD is a very strange world with very strange bedfellows. |
| (Her essay on Prince after his death is a must-read.) | (Her essay on Prince after his death is a must-read.) |
| And here’s a picture of prominent Sanders supporter and Clinton critic, Rosario Dawson. | And here’s a picture of prominent Sanders supporter and Clinton critic, Rosario Dawson. |
| 12.05am BST | 12.05am BST |
| 00:05 | 00:05 |
| Eric Trump, Donald Trump’s middle son, says that he’s prepared to hear jokes about his dad. | Eric Trump, Donald Trump’s middle son, says that he’s prepared to hear jokes about his dad. |
| @EricTrump's ready for possible @realDonaldTrump-related jokes from @POTUS at the #WHCD: https://t.co/WX9oKi6vcF https://t.co/WSsHXU1YDS | @EricTrump's ready for possible @realDonaldTrump-related jokes from @POTUS at the #WHCD: https://t.co/WX9oKi6vcF https://t.co/WSsHXU1YDS |
| The Donald is boycotting because of how dishonest the media is, and not because he got made fun of a lot last year and has a thin skin. | The Donald is boycotting because of how dishonest the media is, and not because he got made fun of a lot last year and has a thin skin. |
| Read more about how he got zinged by the sitting president last year. | Read more about how he got zinged by the sitting president last year. |
| Related: White House correspondents' dinner: will Obama deliver a Trump roast? | Related: White House correspondents' dinner: will Obama deliver a Trump roast? |
| 12.01am BST | 12.01am BST |
| 00:01 | 00:01 |
| C-Span reports that the dinner tonight will consist of “Petite filet au poivre paired with honey and orange infused shrimp, dunk confit, souffle potato, asparugus, zucchini, carrot and roasted peppers.” | C-Span reports that the dinner tonight will consist of “Petite filet au poivre paired with honey and orange infused shrimp, dunk confit, souffle potato, asparugus, zucchini, carrot and roasted peppers.” |
| Americans in 2016, by the way, waste 50% more food than they did in the 1970s. | Americans in 2016, by the way, waste 50% more food than they did in the 1970s. |
| Anyway, here’s Lady Mary from Downton Abbey. | Anyway, here’s Lady Mary from Downton Abbey. |
| 11.54pm BST | 11.54pm BST |
| 23:54 | 23:54 |
| Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders is also a guest of the media tonight. | Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders is also a guest of the media tonight. |
| And, if you’re a long-time Trump watcher, it’s perhaps no surprise to see Omarosa Manigault, who told The Hollywood Reporter at a pre-party that she’s “a Trumplican”. | And, if you’re a long-time Trump watcher, it’s perhaps no surprise to see Omarosa Manigault, who told The Hollywood Reporter at a pre-party that she’s “a Trumplican”. |
| She added: | She added: |
| This is a reality TV generation, right? They’re used to characters on TV saying whatever, doing whatever. Doing crazy things. Changing the game. That’s what we’ve done. We did that on The Apprentice in 2003. We’re doing that with the presidency in 2016. | This is a reality TV generation, right? They’re used to characters on TV saying whatever, doing whatever. Doing crazy things. Changing the game. That’s what we’ve done. We did that on The Apprentice in 2003. We’re doing that with the presidency in 2016. |
| She currently appears on the trail as a Trump surrogate. Trump has not revealed if he plans to nominate her to a position within his administration. | She currently appears on the trail as a Trump surrogate. Trump has not revealed if he plans to nominate her to a position within his administration. |
| 11.45pm BST | 11.45pm BST |
| 23:45 | 23:45 |
| Aretha Franklin is in the house. | Aretha Franklin is in the house. |
| If you didn’t see her perform at this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, why not take a moment and check it out. | If you didn’t see her perform at this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, why not take a moment and check it out. |
| 11.36pm BST | 11.36pm BST |
| 23:36 | 23:36 |
| Emma Watson, who helped launched the women’s equality effort #HeForShe is also in attendance and looking pretty cool. | Emma Watson, who helped launched the women’s equality effort #HeForShe is also in attendance and looking pretty cool. |
| If you’re interested in her work on women’s issues, perhaps you should read this piece about how rape survivors at the Mormon Brigham Young University are fighting back against honor code violations when they report their sexual assaults. | If you’re interested in her work on women’s issues, perhaps you should read this piece about how rape survivors at the Mormon Brigham Young University are fighting back against honor code violations when they report their sexual assaults. |
| Related: 'You're a sinner': how a Mormon university shames rape victims | Related: 'You're a sinner': how a Mormon university shames rape victims |
| 11.33pm BST | 11.33pm BST |
| 23:33 | 23:33 |
| Apparently, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is a Scandal fan. | Apparently, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is a Scandal fan. |
| Helen Mirren is, like all of us, a Prince fan – but she wears it more than on her sleeve. | Helen Mirren is, like all of us, a Prince fan – but she wears it more than on her sleeve. |
| 11.23pm BST | 11.23pm BST |
| 23:23 | 23:23 |
| Bill Nye is hanging out with Steve Aoki: | Bill Nye is hanging out with Steve Aoki: |
| via @BillNye: Found @steveaoki at the #WHCD. pic.twitter.com/kd05SpDv4H | via @BillNye: Found @steveaoki at the #WHCD. pic.twitter.com/kd05SpDv4H |
| There’s also Tony Goldwyn (the president on Scandal) with Shonda Rhimes. | There’s also Tony Goldwyn (the president on Scandal) with Shonda Rhimes. |
| President Fitz! @tonygoldwyn and @shondarhimes arrive at the #WHCD: https://t.co/nec8WgmdwN #Scandal pic.twitter.com/TyZijomrpX | President Fitz! @tonygoldwyn and @shondarhimes arrive at the #WHCD: https://t.co/nec8WgmdwN #Scandal pic.twitter.com/TyZijomrpX |
| And Guardian US writer Steven W Thrasher is hanging out with Carrie Fisher and her dog, Gary. | And Guardian US writer Steven W Thrasher is hanging out with Carrie Fisher and her dog, Gary. |
| Welcome to the Guardian @carrieffisher & @Gary_TheDog #whcd pic.twitter.com/xZl4jPreO5 | Welcome to the Guardian @carrieffisher & @Gary_TheDog #whcd pic.twitter.com/xZl4jPreO5 |
| 11.19pm BST | 11.19pm BST |
| 23:19 | 23:19 |
| Currently on C-Span, two men are discussing the propensity for some women to wear something other than high heels under their gowns at the White House Correspondents Dinner | Currently on C-Span, two men are discussing the propensity for some women to wear something other than high heels under their gowns at the White House Correspondents Dinner |
| C-Span host: Is it becoming more and more common for women to wear comfortable shoes rather than... | C-Span host: Is it becoming more and more common for women to wear comfortable shoes rather than... |
| JD Heyman, deputy editor for entertainment at People: I actually don’t think it’s ever... Women like to wear high heels for this event, but they will often try to tuck a pair, if they’re coming with a team of people, there may be a pair of more comfortable shoes in a bag. People tough it out, pretty much. | JD Heyman, deputy editor for entertainment at People: I actually don’t think it’s ever... Women like to wear high heels for this event, but they will often try to tuck a pair, if they’re coming with a team of people, there may be a pair of more comfortable shoes in a bag. People tough it out, pretty much. |
| There is a bunch of science about how terrible high heels are for your health. | There is a bunch of science about how terrible high heels are for your health. |
| 11.04pm BST | 11.04pm BST |
| 23:04 | 23:04 |
| The red carpet has begun: on C-SPAN, all you can hear is photographers shouting at the top of their lungs, as celebrities are led one-by-one in front of photographers. Jeff Goldblum is speaking to Extra, Emma Watson has been spotted and Assad has ended the ceasefire in Syria. | The red carpet has begun: on C-SPAN, all you can hear is photographers shouting at the top of their lungs, as celebrities are led one-by-one in front of photographers. Jeff Goldblum is speaking to Extra, Emma Watson has been spotted and Assad has ended the ceasefire in Syria. |
| Related: ‘We’ve had massacres all week’: Aleppo on fire again as Assad consigns ceasefire to history | Related: ‘We’ve had massacres all week’: Aleppo on fire again as Assad consigns ceasefire to history |
| 11.00pm BST | 11.00pm BST |
| 23:00 | 23:00 |
| If you are the kind of person who tunes into C-Span before even the red carpet starts, you were treated to a look-back at George W Bush’s comedy stylings, which included jokes about Dick Cheney shooting people, Dick Cheney riding a segway, Dick Cheney being curious if the plot of Brokeback Mountain meant that the Lone Ranger and Tonto got it on, Bush singing off-key about how brown the grass is on his ranch and Bush conducting the Marine Corps Band playing John Phillips Sousa. | If you are the kind of person who tunes into C-Span before even the red carpet starts, you were treated to a look-back at George W Bush’s comedy stylings, which included jokes about Dick Cheney shooting people, Dick Cheney riding a segway, Dick Cheney being curious if the plot of Brokeback Mountain meant that the Lone Ranger and Tonto got it on, Bush singing off-key about how brown the grass is on his ranch and Bush conducting the Marine Corps Band playing John Phillips Sousa. |
| Oh, here, look: protestors supporting of the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed the parliament building in Iraq, prompting the declaration of a state of emergency. | Oh, here, look: protestors supporting of the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed the parliament building in Iraq, prompting the declaration of a state of emergency. |
| Related: Baghdad state of emergency declared after protesters storm parliament | Related: Baghdad state of emergency declared after protesters storm parliament |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 11.01pm BST | at 11.01pm BST |
| 10.14pm BST | 10.14pm BST |
| 22:14 | 22:14 |
| Good evening, and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the “nerd prom”, the not-quite self-deprecating nickname for the annual White House Correspondents Dinner. | Good evening, and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the “nerd prom”, the not-quite self-deprecating nickname for the annual White House Correspondents Dinner. |
| This will be Barack Obama’s final turn at telling jokes behind the podium – and the current election cycle has given him plenty of fodder for his routine, which generally consists of zingers at other politicians’ expense, jibes at members of his administration and newsy references that would be cut from Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update for being not funny enough. | This will be Barack Obama’s final turn at telling jokes behind the podium – and the current election cycle has given him plenty of fodder for his routine, which generally consists of zingers at other politicians’ expense, jibes at members of his administration and newsy references that would be cut from Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update for being not funny enough. |
| He’ll be followed by comedian and host Larry Wilmore, host of Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show, a The Daily Show spin-off for the former TDS correspondent. Wilmore has a typically tough job: to be funny without being offensive to the assembled politicians and media types, many of whom have an inflated sense of self – a sense not reduced by being in the presence of bona fide celebrities. Guests this year include one of Obama’s would-be successor, Bernie Sanders, as well as Aretha Franklin, Ilana Goldblum, Ilana Glazer, Will Smith and Rachel McAdams. | He’ll be followed by comedian and host Larry Wilmore, host of Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show, a The Daily Show spin-off for the former TDS correspondent. Wilmore has a typically tough job: to be funny without being offensive to the assembled politicians and media types, many of whom have an inflated sense of self – a sense not reduced by being in the presence of bona fide celebrities. Guests this year include one of Obama’s would-be successor, Bernie Sanders, as well as Aretha Franklin, Ilana Goldblum, Ilana Glazer, Will Smith and Rachel McAdams. |
| Infamously, the last former TDS corespondent to host the dinner, Steven Colbert, bombed with the in-crowd, though he killed with viewers at home, in 2006 because he performed in character from The Colbert Report and didn’t pull his punches about then president George W Bush, the wars he’d started or his cozy relationship with the media. | Infamously, the last former TDS corespondent to host the dinner, Steven Colbert, bombed with the in-crowd, though he killed with viewers at home, in 2006 because he performed in character from The Colbert Report and didn’t pull his punches about then president George W Bush, the wars he’d started or his cozy relationship with the media. |
| Wilmore isn’t expected to be as pointed about the incumbent president, but one suspects he has more than enough material on the potential next president with which to work. | Wilmore isn’t expected to be as pointed about the incumbent president, but one suspects he has more than enough material on the potential next president with which to work. |
| But before that, join us for coverage of the red carpet, a little commentary from Patrick Gavin, director of the documentary Nerd Prom: The Movie and a look at what else is going on in the world that is probably more important than the sight of media types back-slapping with the politicians they’ll supposedly go back to holding to account tomorrow. (And maybe some intel about Carrie Fisher’s dog, which is supposedly going to be seated with the General herself at the Guardian’s table.) | But before that, join us for coverage of the red carpet, a little commentary from Patrick Gavin, director of the documentary Nerd Prom: The Movie and a look at what else is going on in the world that is probably more important than the sight of media types back-slapping with the politicians they’ll supposedly go back to holding to account tomorrow. (And maybe some intel about Carrie Fisher’s dog, which is supposedly going to be seated with the General herself at the Guardian’s table.) |
| CSpan is airing the whole event live on its site, and several cable news networks plan to cover it as well. | CSpan is airing the whole event live on its site, and several cable news networks plan to cover it as well. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 10.15pm BST | at 10.15pm BST |