Women were all hot and bothered at the “Global Beat” party at the U.N. Foundation last night. With ABC Scandal‘s Tony Goldwyn in the room, they couldn’t take their eyes off him. He was the most powerful man in attendance, considering he plays “President Fitzgerald Grant” in the drama.
Men at the party, meanwhile, marveled at how young and svelte he looks. Women in the lobby clamored to get their picture taken with him. “I never do this!” one blonde cooed to him. One journo remarked pointedly that he did not want to meet Fitz. “I don’t like it when people break the fourth wall,” he said. “I like him to remain Fitz.”
Asked how people are reacting to his presence in Washington, Goldwyn told The Mirror, “It’s slightly surreal to be in Washington and have people obsessing over the show,” he said.
I then moved on to a slightly dicier question about the hot sexual chemistry he has with Kerry Washington‘s character “Olivia Pope” on the show. But in the moment, I got flustered and could only call her his “love interest” as I forgot Washington’s real name and TV name. What the hell? I asked if the chemistry was real between them, but before I could fully get my question out, Goldwyn’s assy, short, dark-haired handler was all over it, interrupting me. “It’s call acting,” he snapped with a wormy fake laugh as he attempted to pull — more like yank — Goldwyn away. Goldwyn was more polite. He wasn’t bothered by my question and said simply, “Shonda Rhimes put the right people together.”
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner party was sponsored by Foreign Affairs Magazine, Devex and the U.N. Foundation. The host committee was comprised of MSNBC host Karen Finney, Twitter’s Vivian Schiller, Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver, AP’s Kimberly Dozier, and ImagineNations Group’s Alan Fleischmann. The purpose of the evening was to honor foreign affairs reporters, who were praised during the speeches, one of which went on and on (and on).
Others spotted in the crowd: The Atlantic and NJ‘s Editor-at Large Steve Clemons, The Hill‘s Managing Editor Bob Cusack and reporter Russell Berman, David Mikhail, deputy director of communications for the Council on Foreign Relations, U.S. News & World Report‘s Nikki Schwab, The Daily Beast‘s Josh Rogin and Eli Lake, Rogin’s cousin Seth Rogin, Chief Revenue Officer of Mashable, ABC News’ Ali Weinberg, WaPo‘s Helena Andrews, BuzzFeed’s Rosie Gray, and Jeff Ballou of Al Jazeera.
The invitation announced that the “special guests” at the party were Goldwyn and Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations.
No offense, but no heads were turning for Haass.
Tony Goldwyn with two party blondes
Josh Rogin, Ali Weinberg and Steve Clemons