Last month, Sean Gregory of Time reported UFC president Dana White invited some of entertainment’s biggest stars to this summer’s UFC Freedom 250 event taking placing on the South Lawn of the White House.
Gregory listed names like Tom Brady and Jason Statham on White’s guest list, but a recent story by Aidan McLaughlin in Vanity Fair said a number of A-listers invited by White are not planning on attending the June 14 event.
As previously noted by my colleague Cain A. Knight in citing Vanity Fair, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is not expected to show up for UFC Freedom 250. According to McLaughlin, joining The Rock in skipping the event will be fellow invitees Adam Sandler, Jared Leto, and Mario Lopez.
McLaughlin noted that around 4,000 people are predicted to attend the UFC event, and he wrote that he was told the White House “has fielded an onslaught of requests from top-dollar donors, lobbyists, and members of Congress clamoring for seats.”
According to McLaughlin, representatives for Lopez, Leto, and Sandler said they will not be seated among those lobbyists and politicians. He also wrote that a “source close to The Rock” said Johnson also won’t be there.
Meanwhile, the status for other celebrities – namely Brady, Statham, and English filmmaker Guy Ritchie – is not currently known. McLaughlin wrote that representatives for those stars didn’t respond to requests for comments, and The White House and UFC didn’t provide names for who is anticipated to attend.
Mustering up celebrities willing to participate in events tied to President Donald Trump’s administration has been an issue lately, even when those events are ostensibly meant to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary. In late May, the Freedom 250 musical event set to take place on the National Mall announced a lineup of artists that included Bret Michaels of Poison, country singer Martina McBride, and The Commodores. Plans for the event were soon radically altered to instead be a large rally featuring Trump as the headliner after most of the artists dropped out.
Even though the UFC may be having trouble gathering together Hollywood’s elite for the United States’ anniversary, some of WWE’s biggest stars will be on hand for the UFC Freedom 250 FanFest on the White House lawn. Scheduled to appear for this event are Charlotte Flair, Bron Breakker, Chelsea Green, and The Usos, among others.
What do you think about the upcoming plans on the White House lawn? Any thoughts on celebrities declining their invitations? Let us know in the comments.