George Clooney, Kim Kardashian, and the 5 Most Influential Celebrities in 2012

Culture

As actor George Clooney, one of the most prominent celebrity guests at last Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, readies to host a $40K a plate fundraising dinner at his Hollywood mansion on behalf of President Barack Obama, the Hollywood-Washington, D.C. love affair continues to heat up with Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardashian walking the capital’s red carpets while the president himself gets criticized for being a little bit of a celebrity himself.

Here are the top 5 celebrity shout-outs at the WHCA dinner:

1. Kim Kardashian    

The daughter of Robert Kardashian (O.J. Simpson’s friend and defense attorney during the former football player 1995 murder trial) was the butt of every joke at the WHCA dinner, when comedian Jimmy Kimmel described her as “the biggest threat to America,” prompting laughter from the audience. This comes just as Kardashian laughs herself all the way to the bank after signing a $40 million contract for three more years of her reality show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

2. Sofia Vergara

The voluptuous star of ABC’s Modern Family was another celebrity target of Kimmel who cited the Colombian star’s cleavage as justification for the Secret Service’s recent prostitution scandal in Cartagena, by virtue of Colombian women’s good looks. Vergara, in the meantime, consoled New Jersey governor Chris Christie (another politician/celebrity guest) when Kimmel took on his weight.

 3. Lindsay Lohan

Only God and Fox News know what the troubled movie starlet was doing at one of the year’s most coveted events. Her presence, however, helped Kimmel deliver another one of his humorous punchlines of the night, warning “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot Chesley Sullenberger (who successfully ditched US Airways Flight 1549 after being stricken by geese) to avoid any goose, “especially Grey Goose,” when giving Lohan a ride home.

2. Barbara Walters

The hostess of The View was another celebrity target when Kimmel jabbed her mispronouncation of words by saying that 16 years ago, there was no Facebook “and a tweet was something Barbara Walter gave her dog.” Walter, who reportedly wasn’t amused, commented on the incident in her show after which she got an apology from the comedian who said he was “very sowwy.”

1. Young Jeezy

Step aside Jay-Z, rapper Young Jeezy received the night’s biggest celebrity shout-out when Obama himself referred to him during his opening routine. In jabbing at “conspiracy theorists” who say the president will unveil a radical agenda during a second term, he said he would win the war against Christmas, instead of the Iraq War, and he would sing Young Jeezy instead of Al Green.