President Barack Obama met privately with Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks CEO and a major donor; Alan Horn, chairman of Walt Disney Studios; and actor Will Smith on Thursday night in Los Angeles, according to Deadline Hollywood, a trade publication in Hollywood.
The administration, which call itself the “most transparent administration in history,” did not disclosed the meeting to the news media. Eric Schultz, White House deputy press secretary, declined to discuss it when asked about it during a news briefing on Air Force One.
“I am going to protect the president’s ability to have private conversations, whether that’s with lawmakers, whether that’s with candidates for president or whether that’s with Hollywood artists,” he said.
Last year, the White House did not disclose a dinner among Obama and Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg, who founded DreamWorks production company, in Los Angeles.
Obama did the same thing in 2013, when he dined with Katzenberg at his Burbank hotel while in town to tape an appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.” After multiple questions, the White House eventually said Obama had paid for the meal.
Anita Kumar: 202-383-6017, @anitakumar01