A roster of A-list celebrities reportedly turned down invitations to President Donald Trump’s much-hyped UFC event on June 14, 2026 at 8PM on the White House South Lawn, leaving UFC Freedom 250 looking more like a family gathering than a star-studded affair.
UFC President Dana White had extended invitations to an impressive lineup of celebrities, including former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, actor and wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, actors Adam Sandler, Jared Leto, and Jason Statham, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, and Access Hollywood host Mario Lopez, The Independent reported on May 27.
However, Vanity Fair reported that few, if any, of these celebrities would actually attend. A source close to Johnson confirmed to the publication that the wrestler-turned-actor would not be there. Sandler, Leto, and even Lopez—who has publicly identified as a conservative—also declined to attend, according to The Daily Beast’s June 6 report.
Jon Favreau, director of The Mandalorian and Grogu and a longtime UFC fan, did not return a request for comment when speculation arose on June 5 that he had received an invitation. The remaining celebrity invitees had not responded to multiple requests for comment from Vanity Fair.
Instead, the guest list for UFC Freedom 250, which also commemorated America’s 250th anniversary, featured primarily Trump family members rather than Hollywood stars, according to sources close to the family who spoke to the New York Post on June 10. First Lady Melania Trump, Barron Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and his wife Bettina Trump, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, and Eric Trump and Lara Trump all filled ringside seats at the $60 million cage fight.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and her husband Nicholas Riccio joined the family gathering in her first White House appearance since giving birth to her second child, according to the report. The Daily Beast called the guest list a humiliation for Trump, noting the stark absence of celebrity power.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle defended the event on June 10, saying it would rank among history’s most significant sporting occasions and that hosting it at the White House demonstrates the president’s commitment to honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The event featured seven UFC bouts taking place in an octagon under towering lighting rigs that were erected on the South Lawn. About 5,000 seats were constructed around the venue, with approximately 4,300 seats positioned around the octagon itself. At least 1,200 of those seats were reserved for active-duty service members.
Trump himself controlled 1,000 tickets for the invite-only event. White and Hollywood superagent Ari Emanuel, who is also a UFC owner, each had 200 tickets to distribute as they chose. Members of the public were able to apply for seats, though the selection process remained unclear.
The president stepped out of the White House to a scene ringed by Cabinet members, senior administration aides, GOP lawmakers, and more than 4,000 fans shouting themselves hoarse inside a temporary arena beneath The Claw, a spaceshiplike metal arch outfitted with lights, sound systems, and massive screens. Thousands more watched on large displays from the nearby Ellipse.
Construction crews assembled massive lighting rigs on the South Lawn, and Trump showed off nighttime renderings of the octagon adorned with stars-and-stripes decor. All seats were invite-only, though officials indicated that members of the public could apply for free tickets to watch from the Ellipse, the park adjacent to the White House.
Many of the invited celebrities are known UFC aficionados. Brady has discussed his favorite fighters in interviews, while Leto has shared posts about upcoming bouts on social media. In a 2011 interview, Statham said he had always been a fan of the sport, calling UFC fighters the ultimate athletes and true gladiators.
The celebrity snubs came on the heels of another high-profile booking disaster for the Trump administration. After most of the concert lineup backed out of the Great American State Fair scheduled for June 24 on the National Mall, Trump announced on June 11 that he would host a rally instead, making himself the main attraction.
Performers such as Milli Vanilli, Bret Michaels, and Martina McBride withdrew after learning the event was partisan rather than nonpartisan as initially described. Trump responded by insulting the performers on Truth Social on June 11, writing that he didn’t want singers with no talent but big fees to put people to sleep, and that he had told them all to stay home.
Trump’s hand-picked replacement performers for the rally include 83-year-old country singer Lee Greenwood, whose signature hit “God Bless the U.S.A.” was released in 1984, and opera performer Christopher Macchio, age 47, who currently has 571 monthly listeners on Spotify.
Trump’s most recent appearance at a sporting event didn’t go much better than his celebrity recruitment efforts. When he attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden on June 8, he was roundly booed by the crowd. He was also caught apparently napping during the Knicks’ loss to the Spurs.
When former President Joe Biden marked his 80th birthday in November 2022, he did so with a private family brunch at the White House, underscoring how swiftly and dramatically circumstances have shifted.
