Michelle Obama Joins Anna Wintour at Costume Museum Grand Opening

Obama and Wintour Image Credit: AFP/Getty Images

First Lady Michelle Obama assisted Vogue editor-in-chief and Obama campaign bundler, Anna Wintour, at the grand opening of the Anna Wintour Costume Center in New York.

Other guests at the event included Calvin Klein, Sarah Jessica Parker, Victoria Beckham, Stella McCartney, Donatella Versace, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

Wintour played a major fundraising role in President Barack Obama‘s 2012 reelection campaign, co-hosting celebrity fundraisers in New York City, London and Paris.

It was reported Wintour raised around $500,000 for Obama’s reelection bid.

Obama and Wintour Image credit: AFP/Getty Images

Obama and Wintour Image Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Robert De Niro Defends Obama

Robert DeNiro joined Barack Obama, Caroline Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy. (Photo: Jason Reed/Reuters)

Robert De Niro defended President Barack Obama from critics in the fall issue of Du Jour magazine.

Working as an actor his entire life means that De Niro sees everything through that lens. In describing his steadfast support for Barack Obama, he compares the president’s challenges to a filmmaker’s. “He’s a good person, period,” he says. “He’s trying his best. He’s going to do things that people feel are not right or violating one right or another. But at the end of the day, he represents, I think, the best of the type of people that I would like to see running the government. He has to play that game, the political game. They all do. They make statements they can’t honor because they’re impossible to honor. Once you get into that Washington machinery, you’ve just got to figure it out and swim against the current and grab onto this rock and that, and just try to maintain your course.”

“You know, it’s one thing to be a critic,” he continues. “It’s another thing to be directly involved. It’s like directing a movie and you edit the film and then someone will give you a suggestion: ‘You could do this, you could do that.’ You look and you say, ‘Yeah, but the reason I can’t do that is because I don’t have that shot, and if I use this shot that’s better here, it impacts on this one and it’s a story point.’ In other words, it can’t be done. You have to make these choices with the government, and you’re going to be criticized. If you took the time to explain it all to the public, they’d say, ‘OK, I get it.’ Can you explain to everybody? No. You just have to say, ‘I made this choice because I felt it was the right choice.’”

De Niro has publicly supported the President in the past and endorsed him with Sen. Ted Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy in 2007. In 2012, during a reelection fundraiser for Obama that featured First Lady Michelle Obama, the actor told a room full of donors “Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney,” De Niro said. “Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?” Republicans were none too pleased with the joke and De Niro later apologized.

Bono and Family Have Lunch With FLOTUS, Obama Daughters

First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters, Sasha and Malia, met U2 frontman, Bono, and his wife and kids in Dublin for lunch, reports the Independent.

The Independent reported that Bono was “dressed in a denim shirt and jeans, Bono called to the waiting crowd: ‘I thought this was a secret.'”

After the lunch, Bono told fans it was a casual lunch.

“We talked about everything and nothing,” he said. “It was a family lunch.”

Michelle Obama Joins Celebs for DNC Fundraisers

First Lady Michelle Obama attended two different DNC fundraisers Wednesday in New York City. Politicker reports one was held at fashion designer Tory Burch‘s house and another titled the “LGBT Gala,” with some famous members of the LGBT community.

At the LGBT Gala, the first lady was introduced by Jason Collins, the Washington Wizards center who recently – and very publicly- came out of the closet. Other celebrities at the bash included Bravo’s Andy Cohen and singer Sara Bareilles – who performed at the event.

Also in attendance, was DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Sean Patrick Maloney.

Obama emphasized the participation and influence the gay community had on her husband.

“Because of you, we have a president who stands up for our most fundamental rights, from ending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell … to supporting our right to marry the person we love,” Obama said.

“We can’t wait for the next presidential election to get fired up and ready to go. We don’t have time for that!” Obama said. “We must recapture that same passion, that same energy and urgency that we felt back in 2008, 2012.”

Tickets for the event ranged in price from $1,250 to $32,400 per person, and approximately 350 people attended, according to a Democratic Party official.

Cohen tweeted a photo of him and Collins at the event.

Cohen and Collins at the “LGBT Gala”
Credit: Andy Cohen @BravoAndy

Celebs visit the White House

Justin Timberlake at the White House April 9. Photo: Reuters

Actor Harrison Ford at the White House April 2. Photo: Reuters

Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus jokes with Vice President Joe Biden on April 12. Photo: White House/Lawrence Jackson

Celebrities Hit The Campaign Trail in Final Days

Katy Perry
Photo: John Gurzinski/Getty Images

With the election days away, President Obama has tapped his Hollywood friends for help during his final campaign push.

Rocker Bruce Springsteen will be joining Obama on a three-state tour, beginning in Madison, Wisconsin on Monday. They will then head to Columbus, Ohio where rapper Jay-Z will join Springsteen onstage. The President and ‘The Boss’ will then finish out their tour in Iowa.

Although absent earlier in the campaign, Springsteen has become one of Obama’s most important celebrity allies in the last month – playing at a handful of rallies in crucial swing states.

Jay-Z has also been a key player in Obama’s reelection efforts by hosting a fundraiser and starring in a web video encouraging people to vote for him.

Katy Perry is set to perform a free concert in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Saturday.

Perry recently performed for 13,000 supporters at an Obama rally in Las Vegas. The singer also joined big names at a Los Angeles fundraising concert in early October.

Also hitting the campaign trail is actress Eva Longoria, who campaigned with Obama on Thursday in Las Vegas. Stevie Wonder and Marc Anthony joined first lady Michelle Obama at events in Florida on Thursday. On Saturday, singer Dave Matthews will join Obama and former President Bill Clinton for a rally in Bristow, Virginia.

David Axelrod, Eva Longoria and David Plouffe in Florida.

Kelly Clarkson: Back On Team Obama

Photo Credit: Jason DeCrow/AP

Although Kelly Clarkson signaled support for Rep. Ron Paul during the Republican primary season, the ‘American Idol’ winner has switched her support to President Obama, she told the Daily Star.

“I’ve been reading online about the debates and I’m probably going to vote for Obama again, even though I’m a Republican at heart,” Clarkson said.

“I can’t support Romney’s policies as I have a lot of gay friends and I don’t think it’s fair they can’t get married,” Clarkson said.

The singer noted the contrast between Obama and Romney on reproductive rights – a hot topic for many female voters.

“I’m not a hardcore feminist but we can’t be going back to the 50s,” Clarkson added.

Clarkson said she admires the president and first lady.

“Obama is a great guy. I’ve met him and I’m a fan of Michelle too,” Clarkson said. “She has been busy promoting better education and healthy diets, which is something we could all use a dose of reality on.”

Michelle Obama Attends Star-Studded Park Avenue Fundraiser

First Lady Michelle Obama attended a ritzy Park Avenue fundraiser in New York City on Wednesday, reports POLITICO.

Celebrity attendees included: Sigourney Weaver, Chris Rock, James Earl Jones, Blair Underwood, Cynthia Nixon, Sam Waterston, Cherry Jones, Geena Davis and Jeffrey Wright. Director Mike Nichols, husband of Diane Sawyer, was also in attendance.

The 350 guests in attendance paid $1,000 per ticket. Prior to Obama’s speech, some of the actors, (many who had coincidentally played presidents or first ladies on screen), read some classic selections from Twain, Whitman and Morrison about America.

A short time after the readings, Obama went on stage and expressed her regret for missing the readings.

“Everybody goes, ‘You’ve got a great event. This person is going to be there!'” Obama joked.  “And I’m like, am I going to be there? ‘No, actually, you’re going to miss everything.’ So was the case tonight.”

photo credits: Getty Images

Michelle Obama Headed to Will Smith Fundraiser

(Photo: Reuters)

First Lady Michelle Obama is returning to Los Angeles October 25 for a fundraiser held at actor Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith‘s house in Calabasas, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The fundraiser will be co-hosted by actress Salma Hayek, Roc Nation co-founder Jay Brown and wife Kawanna, film producer James Lassiter and wife Mai, and Lady Gaga manager Troy Carter and wife Rebecca.

Tickets for the lunch are going for a $2,500-per-person contribution to the Obama Victory Fund. A $10,000-per-couple donation for a photo with the first lady. Guests willing to pay $40,000 will get lunch for two, a photo with Mrs. Obama and an exclusive meet-and-greet before the meal.

This isn’t the first time the first lady fundraised in Los Angeles. She attended a fundraiser earlier this summer held by singer and fashionista Gwen Stefani in Beverly Hills.

The Smiths and some of the other co-hosts have previously co-hosted fundraisers for the Obama campaign, specifically in fall 2011.

President Obama recently wrapped a star-studded fundraising weekend in Los Angeles that apparently netted the Obama campaign close to $10 million.

Madonna’s Bizarre Endorsement of Obama

At a recent concert in NYC, Madonna gave a rather…interesting endorsement of President Obama. Later on in the concert, the singer praised First Lady Michelle Obama.