You expect celebs like George Clooney, Charlize Theron, Steven Spielberg and even MTV News' own Sway to get invites to Washington's annual night off from partisan bickering replaced with biting political jokes known as the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. It's a tradition to mix real Hollywood with the biggest stars in politics at the gathering, which over the years has made for some truly odd place settings.
This year is no exception, as tabloid staples Kim Kardashian and Lindsay Lohan have made the cut, meaning they will be rubbing elbows with the likes of Zooey Deschanel, Paul Rudd, Stevie Wonder, "Hunger Games" star Josh Hutcherson, Mary J. Blige, "The Artist" star dog Uggie, Diane Keaton, John Legend and "Portlandia" co-stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. This is actually Kardashian's second go-round, as she was a guest of Fox News in 2010, though this is the first invite for Lohan.
While the Washington Post noted that the picks tend to be a bit safer these days, Lohan and Kardashian follow in the tradition of such past in-the-headlines-right-now choices as Ozzie Osbourne in 2002 and Ellen DeGeneres in 1997. The actress was making her first appearance in public with a girlfriend that year, when she appeared with Anne Heche shortly after coming out as a lesbian.
But because media organizations get to submit their own guest list, it makes a weird Tinsel Town sense that curvy Sofia Vergara got the nod from ABC News along with "Modern Family" co-stars Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet and Julie Bowen. The Huffington Post reserved a slot for Dakota Fanning, as well as Daniel Day Lewis and "True Blood" co-stars and mates Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, while Newsweek made room at a table for Reese Witherspoon.
Lohan and Kardashian aren't the only strange bedfellows to make the cut recently. In 2011, you might have seen such invitees as "American Pie" alum Jason Biggs hanging with Bristol Palin, snowboarder Shaun White, "Dancing with the Stars" co-host Brooke Burke, Paula Abdul and Zach Galifianakis.
The 2010 list was even weirder, ranging from Betty White and Jon Bon Jovi to Chace Crawford, Enrique Iglesias, Ashley Greene, Justin Bieber and Jessica Simpson. Not to be outdone, in 2009 you got the almost-First Vice Husband, Todd Palin, as well as former "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi, then-husband/wife Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, Tyra Banks, hero pilot "Sully" Sullenberger, George Lucas, Sting, Ludacris, Alicia Keys and Natasha Bedingfield.
Jimmy Kimmel is hosting his year's show, and while Kardashian's current man, Kanye West, is reportedly finishing up a short film in Qatar , it doesn't sound like he'll be flying in to be by her side on Saturday night. Kardashian will be attending with her mother, Kris Jenner, as a guest of Fox News, while Fox talking head Greta Van Susteren put Lohan on the list.