Anna Kendrick made Barack Obama double over with laughter in 2012. Now we know why.
You want to know what real power looks like? Walking up to the President of the United States and calling him an asshole.
During the era of Donald Trump, sure, saying something like that could go very badly. But back in 2012, when politics was less of a bloodsport and President Barack Obama still lived in the White House, Anna Kendrick didn't just get away with it -- she got the president laughing hysterically.
"I called him an asshole and scolded him for not knowing enough about the 50 states," Kendrick told Stephen Colbert during a Friday appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The fun apparently started when Kendrick showed up extra-early for a meet-and-greet with President Obama. She was the first attendee there, so she started chatting with one of the president's Secret Service agents, who happened to be from Maine. (Kendrick is also a Mainer.)
This is relevant to the story.
During Obama's talk, he spotted Kendrick in the crowd and praised her for her role in Up in the Air, the 2009 movie in which she starred alongside George Clooney as a corporate downsizer-in-training. Then, during the meet-and-greet portion of the event, he brought up the movie again.
"So I shake his hand and he says, 'I hope I didn't embarrass you earlier.' And I was like, 'Yeah, you're such an asshole.'"
Pause for laughter.
"And he kinda laughs and says 'Oh, you're from Maine, aren't you?' And thinking about my conversation with the Secret Service agent I said, 'Yes! And I was the first person here.'"
Then she described her chat with the Secret Service agent, which prompted a question from the president: Are people from Maine really punctual?
"I was like, 'You didn't know that? You're the president.' So I called him an asshole and scolded him for not knowing enough about the 50 states. And that was what made him double over with laughter, yayyyyyy."
So there you have it. Now you have all the context needed to understand exactly what was going on in this years-old Instagram post from Kendrick.
Topics Barack Obama Celebrities
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
