In a scene straight out of an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, former president Barack Obama had to uninvite Larry David from his 60th birthday party. And, naturally, the Seinfeld creator was thrilled to get out of it.
Obama threw a big, outdoor party at his home on Martha’s Vineyard last Saturday, inviting around 200 of his closest friends and family to help him celebrate the milestone, but days before the event was set to take place, it was announced the former POTUS would scale back festivities due to concerns over the ongoing pandemic and rise in Delta variant cases. David told the New York Times over the weekend that he was one of the guests who didn’t make the final cut. Ahead of the party, he got a missed call from Obama’s assistant that sent him into a tailspin as he assumed that he was going to be asked to perform and would have to come up with an entire stand-up routine in just three days. So, David explained, “I was pretty glum when I finally called back his assistant. 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.” He added, “Then I hung up the phone, poured myself a drink, and finished my crossword puzzle.”
The comedian wasn’t the only high-profile guest whose birthday invitation was rescinded. Stephen Colbert—who was also axed from the guest list—joked on The Late Show last week, “[Obama] decided to celebrate by throwing this huge blowout on Martha’s Vineyard and everybody who was anybody was going to be there, including yours truly. But given the whole pandemic thing and the Delta variant, a celebrity mosh pit was maybe not the wisest choice, so Obama decided to scale back the guest list for his party — he was forced to limit the invites to only his closest Beyoncé‘s.”
Hannah Hankins, a spokeswoman for the Obamas, issued a statement last week regarding the decision to curtail party plans in the face of rapidly shifting safety concerns. “This outdoor event was planned months ago in accordance with all public health guidelines and with COVID safeguards in place,” she said. “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. He’s appreciative of others sending their birthday wishes from afar and looks forward to seeing people soon.”
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