White House Correspondents’ dinner: Celebs pack out event as Biden says he is ‘working like hell’ to free imprisoned journalists
Joe Biden told journalists at a glitzy bash that he is “working like hell” to free their colleagues who are being held overseas.
It came as celebs such as Julia Fox and John Legend gathered at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, often seen as a chance for politicians and comedians to trade barbs at each other.
Mr Biden, who announced recently he was standing again to be president, spoke to the parents of Evan Gershkovich at the event – the Wall Street Journal reporter who has been imprisoned in Russia on spying charges, which he denies.
Some of those in attendance wore “Free Evan” shirts.
Also in attendance was Debra Tice, whose son Austin went missing in 2012 after disappearing from a check point in Syria while working for the Washington Post and CBS.
The government has previously said it assumes Mr Tice is alive, and is working to bring him home.
“They are among hundreds of journalists around the world who are wrongfully detained for the simple act of doing journalism – which is not a crime,” said Tamara Keith, a White House correspondent for National Public Radio and the association’s president.
Brittney Griner was also invited to the event, after she was recently released from Russia detention over a drugs charge.
The basketball player was sent back to the US as part of a prisoner swap, and went to the White House dinner with her wife Cherelle, as guests of CBS News.
Brittney Griner and her wife Cherelle at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Pic: AP
President Biden was given the chance to speak at the event, using it to target the US news media – mainly Fox News.
“Lies told for profit and power. Lies of conspiracy and malice repeated over and over again designed to generate a cycle
of anger and hate and even violence,” he said.
That cycle, Mr Biden added, has led some to ban books, and “the rule of law and our rights and freedoms to be stripped away.”
Zeroing in on what he described as “an extreme press,” Mr Biden at the same time joked that if he called Fox News “honest, fair and truthful then I can be sued for defamation”.
He was referring to the $787.5m settlement made between the network and Dominion Voting Systems.
Mr Biden also jibed about his predecessor, joking he had been offered $10 to keep his speech short.
“That’s a switch – a president being offered hush money,” Mr Biden added.
Ke Huy Quan at the event
Jason Isaacs
Arnold Schwarzenegger talked about the importance of freedom of speech
Other celebrities who attended included Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan, former Olympian-turned politician Caitlin Jenner, and Harry Potter star Jason Isaacs.
Arnold Schwarzenegger opened proceedings with a pre-recorded video about freedom of speech, before the headliner Roy Wood Jr delivered his routine.
In particular, he took aim at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to announce a run for the presidency, touching on his ongoing feud with Disney, his book bans, and White House ambitions.
Dolly Parton has declared she “ain’t dead yet” after her sister raised concerns about the singer’s health by asking people to pray for her.
“There are just a lot of rumours flying around. But I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was okay,” the 79-year-old singer said in a new two-minute video posted on social media.
“I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me. And I ain’t done working,” she added.
In the footage, captioned “I ain’t dead yet!”, the 9 to 5 singer is seen on a set speaking directly to the camera.
On Tuesday, a Facebook post shared by her sister Freida Parton escalated concerns around Parton’s health when she wrote that she had been “up all night praying for my sister, Dolly”.
Hours later, Freida Parton followed up with a clarification. “I want to clear something up. I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly,” she wrote.
“She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer.”
Dolly Parton during a concert in Nashville, Tennessee, in March. Pic: AP
Last month, Parton postponed her first Las Vegas residency in 32 years, citing “health challenges”.
She was scheduled to perform six shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in December. The dates have been moved to next September
Parton offered her own clarification about her health condition in Wednesday’s video.
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“Everyone thinks that I am sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here! Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease, those of you who seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate,” she continued.
“And I appreciate your prayers because I’m a person of faith. I can always use the prayers for anything and everything.”
Dolly Parton performs with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders in 2023. Pic: Reuters
She also referenced her late husband of nearly 60 years Carl Dean who died earlier this year at the age of 82.
“I want you to know that I’m OK. I’ve got some problems as I’ve mentioned. Back when my husband Carl was very sick, that was for a long time, and then when he passed, I didn’t take care of myself. So I let a lot of things go that I should’ve been taking care of,” she said.
“So anyway, when I got around to it, the doctor said: ‘We need to take care of this. We need to take care of that.’ Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, where I’m kind of having a few treatments here and there.”
And in true Parton fashion, she ended with a joke: “I wanted you to know that I’m not dying”.
Dolly Parton’s sister has said that the country singer is “going to be just fine” after worrying fans by asking for prayers.
Freida Parton had asked people for prayers for the Jolene and I Will Always Love You singer on Tuesday.
“Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly. Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately,” Ms Parton wrote in a Facebook post.
“I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been [led] to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me.
“She’s strong, she’s loved, and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine. Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you!”
Parton performs during her concert in Ijsselhallen in Zwolle, Netherlands, in 2007. Pic: AP
After shocked fans took to social media expressing worry about Parton’s health, her sister said in a second post on Wednesday: “I want to clear something up. I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly.
“She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer. It was nothing more than a little sister asking for prayers for her big sister.”
It comes after Parton announced in September that she had to postpone her upcoming Las Vegas residency over “health challenges”.
Dolly Parton performs with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders in 2023. Pic: Reuters
“As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures,” the singer said at the time.
“As I joked with them, it must be time for my 100,000-mile check-up, although it’s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon!”
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Parton said she was postponing the shows because she is “not going to be able to rehearse and put together the show that I want you to see. You pay good money to see me perform, and I want to be at my best for you”.
The country star was set to perform six shows at Caesars Palace in December, but her performance dates have been moved to September 2026.
“Don’t worry about me quittin’ the business because God hasn’t said anything about stopping yet,” Parton said as she announced the postponement of her shows. “But I believe he is telling me to slow down right now so I can be ready for more big adventures with all of you.”
The daughter of late actor Robin Williams has begged people to stop sending her AI-generated “slop” of her father.
“Please, just stop sending me AI videos of Dad,” actor and director Zelda Williams wrote on Instagram on Monday.
“To watch the legacies of real people be condensed down to ‘this vaguely looks and sounds like them so that’s enough’, just so other people can churn out horrible TikTok slop puppeteering them is maddening.”
Zelda Williams arrives in 2024. File pic: AP
She described the videos as “disgusting, over-processed hotdogs” made from the lives of human beings.
“You’re […] shoving them down someone else’s throat hoping they’ll give you a little thumbs up and like it. Gross,” she wrote.
It’s not the first time Williams has written about the impact of people sending her content about her father on social media.
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In 2020, on the anniversary of her father’s death, Williams posted on Instagram saying:
“While I am constantly touched by all of your boundless continued love for him, some days it can feel a bit like being seen as a roadside memorial – a place, not a person – where people drive past and leave their sentiments to then go about their days comforted their love for him was witnessed.”
“But sometimes, that leaves me emotionally buried under a pile of others’ memories instead of my own.”
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The death of Robin Williams in 2014, an actor and comedian known for his quick wit and wisdom, triggered a global outpouring of grief and tributes to the star still frequently surface on social media to this day.
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‘I’ve been turned into an AI announcer’
In 2023, Zelda appealed for the end of AI-generated content, saying in a widely-reported post on Instagram:
“I’ve witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/recreate actors who cannot consent, like Dad. This isn’t theoretical, it is very very real.”
“I’ve already heard AI used to get his ‘voice’ to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my own feelings.”
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