What’s Worse Than Not Being Invited to the Party of the Year?

family, happiness, humor, lessons learned, music, politics 2 Minutes

Being disinvited to the party of the year.

I’m talking about the recent 60th birthday party bash that was recently held at Martha’s Vineyard for former President Barack Obama.

Originally, the guest list included 475 people, but then with the growing spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus, people were concerned with both the optics and the risk of having such a large gathering.

Hannah Hankins, a spokeswoman for the Obamas, issued the following statement:

“This outdoor event was planned months ago in accordance with all public health guidelines and with COVID safeguards in place,” she said in a statement. “Due to the new spread of the Delta variant over the past week, the President and Mrs. Obama have decided to significantly scale back the event to include only family and close friends.”

So the decision was made to scale the party back to about 200 people.

Now I have no illusion that I am part of Obama’s inner circle, so I was fine with not getting an invite.

But can you imagine the thrill of being one of the original 475 people invited? I’m sure you would love that feeling of being part of an exclusive club of some pretty cool people.

But then just like that, it’s taken away from you. You didn’t make the cut. It’s a tough way to find out you’re still not quite there, you’re not a close friend.

And while I don’t have the full list of who did and didn’t make the final cut, I do have a few names:

Here are some of the people who made the final cut:

  • Gayle King
  • Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
  • Steven Spielberg
  • John Legend and Chrissy Teigen
  • H.E.R.
  • Erykah Badu
  • Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union
  • Don Cheadle
  • Eddie Vedder
  • Jay-Z and Beyoncé

Here are some of the original invitees who did not make the final cut (does Obama have a small grudge with comedians?):

  • Larry David
  • Stephen Colbert
  • David Letterman
  • Conan O’Brien

Then there are those on the original list whom I could not find out if they made the final cut:

  • Bruce Springsteen (my guess is that he made the final cut)
  • George Clooney (again, my guess is yes)

And finally, there are those who were invited but declined the invite because of COVID concerns. At least they did not have to go through the potentially devastating effect of being disinvited,

  • Oprah Winfrey
  • Ava DuVernay

But the best thing I read about the event comes courtesy of Larry David.

David, 74, told The New York Times that he got a call from Obama’s assistant ahead of the event and assumed he was being asked to perform, causing him to panic at the thought of having to come up with a stand-up routine in just three days.”I was pretty glum when I finally called back his assistant,” he told the outlet in an email. “When he told me I was eighty-sixed from the party, I was so relieved, I screamed, ‘Thank you! Thank you!’ He must have thought I was insane.” “Then I hung up the phone, poured myself a drink and finished my crossword puzzle,” the Curb Your Enthusiasm star added.

I hope the other uninvited guests were as gracious as Larry…

*image courtesy of House Beautiful

Sources:

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

Published

50 thoughts on “What’s Worse Than Not Being Invited to the Party of the Year?”

  1. In my books 200 guests is still a pretty big party. Big enough that a lot of people could be exposed if just one person arrived with Covid. Since a lot of the guests appear to still be celebrities, there still is a question of optics. Maybe they should implement a vaccination passport system to improve those optics.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. I think I’ll invite 475 of my closest friends to the party. I find it amusing when I look at someone who has 5,846 Facebook friends. By the way, you didn’t tell us if President Trump made the cut.🤣

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. yes, not having to buy a gift would be a big relief. but what if you already bought one?

      And Curb Your Enthusiasm was one of my favorite tv shows of all time. funny, yes. gracious, no. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

      1. If I had bought or made a gift, sure I would be annoyed. But if I were truly gracious, I would forward it on to Obama with sincere best wishes. The party had already become a disaster from his point of view. I would not tell the press I was pleased not to have to go, preferring to finish a crossword puzzle.

        Liked by 1 person

      1. Well, then your not watching Fox News. They reported 74 people tested postive in Martha’s Vineyard. I did not stick around long enough to see if any of them were connected to the Obama bash. I think I would trust your investigation if you Blogged about it.

        Liked by 1 person

      1. I assume if there had been a vaccine requirement, that would have been publicized. Of course being vaccinated is no guarantee that you can’t be infected and spread the infection to other vaccinated or unvaccinated people. Some say the wait staff was at highest risk of getting infected or spreading the virus. I also assume that the party was in compliance with any local public health orders. Still, if anyone came down with it, Obama would be a perfect person to sue and test my theories of legal liability.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I read that attendees needed a negative test, but test aren’t 100% accurate. I’m a big Obama fan but very disappointed in his hosting this party. Leaders need to model good behavior and this party sends the wrong message on several levels.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. I agree with everything you say here. Obama was such a great President, but it seems like he hasn’t found a big issue to focus on since he has left office, like Jimmy Carter did.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I hope you write about your time at the Obama bash. Will William and Kate be there as well? Perhaps you can bring autographed copies of your books to hand out… 🙂

      and yes, I would love to have Larry David at my party, although I am sure he would complain the whole time…

      Like

      Reply

  15. is it a coincidence the comedians got cut? I think not, and I smell an anti-humor conspiracy. this explains why you didn’t make the cut. p.s. I love Larry David’s response and I can identify with having a sense of relief when something gets canceled that I wasn’t excited about attending anyway.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. it was odd that all those comedians got cut, and I also enjoyed Larry’s response. it sounds exactly like a scene he would have in Curb Your Enthusiasm…

      and I’m sure there are lots of things that would explain why I didn’t make the cut 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  17. That’s a big party. It would take hours even to greet each guest, let alone have a deep and meaningful conversation with them. I was initially surprised to hear Obama would be 60. He was so young not so long ago. 😂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to petespringerauthor Cancel reply