Obama dines with Hollywood donors
President Obama on Thursday night dined with three Hollywood VIPs and political donors — Jeffrey Katzenberg, Alan Horn and Will Smith — after a set of fundraisers in Los Angeles, according to Deadline Hollywood.
The publication reported the DreamWorks Animation CEO, the Walt Disney Studios chairman and the Academy Award-nominated actor all ate with the president as his hotel.
{mosads}The dinner reportedly took place after a $10,000-per-person fundraiser at the home of Leah and Sam Fisher. Earlier in the day, Obama attended a bigger event where longtime supporter musician John Legend performed.
The White House did not disclose the meal to the press corps traveling with the president on his six-day trip to California.
“I am going to protect the president’s ability to have private conversations, whether that’s with lawmakers, whether that’s with candidates for president, or whether that’s with Hollywood artists,” spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters.
Last June, Obama pulled off a similar move, dining with Katzenberg and Stephen Spielberg without disclosing it to the media.
Katzenberg is one of Obama’s biggest financial contributors. During the 2012 election, he gave $2 million to the pro-Obama super-PAC Priorities USA Action.
Smith, who recently starred in the film “Concussion,” hosted a fundraiser for Obama in 2012 that netted at least $500,000. Horn also gave to Democrats during Obama’s reelection campaign.
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