Celebs Got Seat at State Dinner

George Clooney, 'Downton Abbey' actors, John Legend in attendance
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 15, 2012 6:34 AM CDT
Celebs Got Seat at State Dinner
Chrissy Teigen, left, a model well-known for her swimsuit photos talks with her boyfriend and singer John Legend, right, during a State Dinner at the White House, Wednesday, March 14, 2012.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

British Prime Minister David Cameron and wife Samantha were the honorees at last night's state dinner, but the real VIPs were the other 350-something people who managed to score a ticket. Among them: George Clooney (who sat next to Michelle Obama at the head table, but of course), Warren Buffett, Richard Branson, Harvey Weinstein, Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern (of Downton Abbey fame), Idris Elba, top golfer Rory McIlroy, and John Legend, who performed after an opener by Mumford & Sons.

The other really important details, as per the AP:

  • Michelle Obama wore Marchesa, and both first ladies were decked out in blue.
  • Quip of the night, by David Cameron, on the NCAA game he took in: "We have to have a guys' night out because so often we find we are completely overshadowed by our beautiful wives."
  • Tweet of the night, by Legend's girlfriend, model Chrissy Teigen: "a salad with some stuff in it I dunno"
  • On the hybrid US-UK menu: bison Wellington (made from North Dakota buffalo tenderloin), crisped halibut served on braised baby kale from the White House garden
  • No word, of course, on the wine.
(More state dinner stories.)

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