WH ‘Selma’ guest list includes Oprah, Common, Legend

Oprah Winfrey, John Legend and Common are among the guests heading to the White House Friday for a screening of the Oscar-nominated civil rights-era movie “Selma.”

The former talk show queen is one of the producers behind the film and also appears in the historical drama, which depicts the 1965 voting rights march. Legend and Common penned the film’s Golden Globe-winning song, “Glory.”

{mosads}Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who’s portrayed in the film, and actor David Oyelowo, who plays Martin Luther King Jr., will also attend the screening hosted by President Obama, according to a guest list from a White House official obtained by The Hill.

News of the White House screening came Thursday, the same day that nominees for the 2015 Academy Awards were announced. All acting nominees were white, inciting a wave of criticism, particularly on social media. While “Selma” was nominated in the “Best Picture” category, Oyelowo was not included among the “Best Actor” nominees, which many critics considered a snub.

“Selma” was also absent from the directing and screenwriting categories.

Friday’s screening won’t be the first visit to the White House for many members of “Selma’s” cast and crew. Winfrey, a longtime Obama supporter, has been to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. 10 times since the former Illinois senator first took office in 2009, according to White House visitor logs.

Critics slammed a 2011 visit to the White House by Common for how the hip hop artist railed against former President George W. Bush in one of his poems.

—Justin Sink contributed.