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Larry Davidis sharing his reaction to being disinvited fromBarack Obama’s birthday party — and it’sveryLarry David.
The former president celebrated his 60th birthday last Saturday at his Martha’s Vineyard home with an outdoor party for about 200 close friends and family. Days before, it was announced that the celebration had beenscaled backamid coronavirus concerns after the lengthy guest list and other details of the party were criticized.
David, 74, toldThe New York Timesthat he got a call from Obama’s assistant ahead of the event and assumed he was being asked to perform, causing him to panic at the thought of having to come up with a stand-up routine in just three days.
“I was pretty glum when I finally called back his assistant,” he told the outlet in an email. “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.”
“Then I hung up the phone, poured myself a drink and finished my crossword puzzle,” theCurb Your Enthusiasmstar added.
Barack Obama.ALEX EDELMAN/AFP via Getty
Stephen Colbert, who was also disinvited, joked about the party during his monologue onThe Late Showlast week.
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Hannah Hankins, a spokeswoman for the Obamas, told PEOPLE that the size of the birthday bash was reduced due to a recent rise in COVID-19 cases and thespread of the delta variant.
“This outdoor event was planned months ago in accordance with all public health guidelines and with COVID safeguards in place,” she said in a statement. “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,” Hankins added.
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Despite having to scale back, Obama still had “a great time” during the outdoor gathering, which took place under a massive tent on the grounds of his29-acre Martha’s Vineyard estate, a source close to the event told PEOPLE.
“Henever stopped smiling,” the source said. “Literally, every time I saw him, he had the biggest smile.”
The insider added that he “danced all night.” The celebrity guests who did end up attending includedGayle King, Tom Hanks,Rita Wilson, andSteven Spielberg, as well as performersJohn Legend,H.E.R., andErykah Badu.
source: people.com
