While the sometimes starry White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was an A-list free zone this year — the Beltway pre-party scene was as robust as ever.
One of-the-moment celeb on the scene on Friday night was “The White Lotus” star Jason Isaacs, who showed up at UTA’s late-night bash at Osteria Mozza. The party kept raging even after the bar closed.
Issacs — who recently dished that there were “romances” as well as “arguments” behind the scenes of the Max hit that everyone can’t stop talking about — was swarmed by fans, including some of DC’s top news anchors like CNN host Dana Bash.
(In less dramatic news, Issacs explained he was in town lobbying for National Endowment for the Arts funding.)
Across the room near a DJ spinning tunes was Sen. Amy Klobuchar huddling with UTA vice chairman Jay Sures, who’s known for his stable of top news clients like Anderson Cooper, Chuck Todd, Norah O’Donnell, Jen Psaki, Jake Tapper and David Muir.
Also at the Georgetown bash were the agency’s news co-heads Ryan Hayden and Marc Paskin.
While the music blared, Bill de Blasio chatted with his activist gal pal Nomiki Konst, and lookalike stars who’ve played tough-guy cops — “The Shield” actor Michael Chiklis and Dean Norris of “Breaking Bad” — bonded.
Also circulating: MCNBC’s Ari Melber, Nancy O’Dell, Daily Beast boss Joanna Coles, Puck co-founder Jon Kelly, Washington insider Tammy Haddad, Tapper and more.
By the time the party wound down, a torrential downpour hit the area, leaving tipsy Beltway insiders scurrying for arriving Ubers in increasingly soggy loafers.
Earlier, at Condé Nast’s nearby party with Creative Artists Agency, one of Hollywood’s top powerbrokers — CAA chief executive Bryan Lourd — was hobnobbing with Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch.
The event was held at City Tavern, a 13,000-square-foot venue on M Street that was built in 1796.
The buzzy and brainy gathering had the vibe of a finals club soiree and included guests such as CBS News president Tom Cibrowski, “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, CNN vet Wolf Blitzer, ABC anchor Jonathan Karl, NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell, pol-turned-pundit Michael Steele, CBS News’ Robert Costa, the irrepressible Molly Jong-Fast, political impressionist Matt Friend, “60 Minutes” journalist Cecilia Vega and CNN anchor Jim Sciutto.
Also on Friday were wall-to-wall receptions around town thrown by the Qatar embassy, Crooked Media, the Creative Coalition, Brunswick Group and the Daily Mail, and more.
Haddad co-hosted her annual “garden brunch” on Saturday, and CBS News and Politico held a reception, while Substack entered the social fray this year with a new event, a “New Media Party” during the WHCD.
NBC News and Telemundo took this year’s coveted after-party slot which was once the domain of Vanity Fair and Bloomberg.
Isaacs, O’Leary and Norris walked the red carpet at the WHCD, along with original “Wonder Woman” Lynda Carter. Stars who’ve attended in past years include Scarlett Johansson, George Clooney, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, Viola Davis, Bradley Cooper, Kim Kardashian, Natalie Portman and more.