Hollywood star George Clooney was reportedly "shaken to his core" when then-President Joe Biden failed to recognize him at a 2024 fundraising event.
The New York Post reported that the revelation was made in a new book that detailed what happened at the campaign event Clooney co-hosted.
Biden needed a verbal nudge from an aide who walked with him when approaching Clooney. The aide reportedly said, "You know George." To which Biden greeted Clooney, "Yeah, yeah. Thank you for being here."
Only after the aide fully identified Clooney did Biden react with, "Oh, yeah … Hi, George!"
The book, "Original Sin," written by Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper, said Clooney was taken aback by the encounter. "Clooney was shaken to his core. The president hadn't recognized him. A man he had known for years."
Less than a month after that event, which raised about $30 million for Biden, Clooney pronounced in an opinion piece for The New York Times that Biden's days of leadership needed to close out. "I love Joe Biden," said Clooney. "But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time."
Clooney later endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris as Biden's replacement in the race for the presidency. She lost to Donald Trump in the November 2024 election, sending Trump back to the White House for a second term.