Trump's birthday party poopers revealed: The A-list stars who skipped the president's UFC bash after being named on Dana White's invite list

By MELISSA KOENIG, US REPORTER and ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 06:42, 16 June 2026 | Updated: 06:59, 16 June 2026 Thousands of spectators descended on the White House on Sunday to attend President Donald Trump's UFC birthday bash, but a number of A-list celebrities turned down an invite for the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. Dana White, the president of UFC, revealed to TIME Magazine last month that he extended invitations to celebrities including Adam Sandler, Guy Ritchie, Tom Brady, Jared Leto, Mario Lopez, Jason Statham and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Not one of those celebrities attended the Freedom 250 event. Despite their absence, however, other staunch MAGA celebrities were seen enjoying the cage fights on the White House's South Lawn.  These included billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, NHL stars Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, comedians Tony Hinchcliffe and Shane Gillis and influencer Logan Paul. Country singer Zac Brown even performed The Star-Spangled Banner, moments before a dozen jets flew overhead as AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck' blared. There were also some surprise guests, including Poland's right-wing president Karol Nawrocki and British heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury, who was pictured wearing a 'Trump for prime minister' hat.  'It's been a long time, but boy oh boy am I happy to be here for this historic event. Freedom, at the White House, and it's Donald Trump's birthday,' Fury told Paramount+ announcer Jon Anik.  Of the 4,300 seats available for spectators, 1,200 were reserved for active-duty service members from various branches of the armed forces, as the event was used to promote a number of charities benefiting both veterans and 9/11 heroes. US Navy veteran Royce Williams, who fought in the Korean War and shot down four Soviet fighter jets, was also given an honor as he escorted fighter Michael Chandler into the Octagon for his bout against Mauricio Ruffy - who wound up defeating him with a TKO in the first round.  President Donald Trump celebrated his 80th birthday with a UFC fight on the White House's South Lawn Sunday night Some A-list celebrities who were invited to the bash, meant to mark America's 250th birthday, opted not to attend including Jared Leto and Adam Sandler Former wrestler and movie star Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson also declined the invitation Among the crowd were many top White House officials who made grand entrances to the event - including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson and FBI director Kash Patel – who brought his country singer girlfriend Alexis Wilkins – were also seen enjoying the spectacle. Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller was joined by his wife, Katie, just 11 days after she gave birth to the couple's fourth child. Members of the Trump family got some of the best seats in the house, with Barron perched right behind his mother and father. Melania's father, Viktor Knavs, attended the celebration and was positioned in the audience close to his daughter.  Other Trump family members who gathered for the celebration were Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner, their sons Joseph and Theo Kushner, as well as Donald Trump Jr, his new wife, Bettina Trump, Eric and Lara Trump with their daughter Carolina, Tiffany Trump, and her husband, Michael Boulos, and granddaughter Kai Trump. Some major Trump allies were spotted at the event, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Comedians Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe were spotted enjoying the fight night Zac Brown performed The Star-Spangled Banner at the beginning of the night The festivities came to an end when Justin Gaethje won the lightweight championship and thanked the president, who donned a white 'USA' cap for the evening's final event. Gaethje carried an American flag and thanked military members after his bloodied battle with Georgian-Spaniard Ilia Topuria in the co-main event ended around 1am ET. Then, it was Trump's turn to enter the spotlight. The president made his way into the cage alongside First Lady Melania as pyrotechnics sparkled from the structure above, dubbed 'the Claw'.  Dazzling fireworks lit up the sky above the White House in red, white and blue as chants of 'USA' rang out from the crowd to toast Gaethje's victory.  Trump greeted Gaethje again as he and Melania shook the fighter's hand. The president then patted Gaethje on the shoulder before engaging the fighter in a lengthy conversation.  When the fight night finally came to a close early Monday morning, the Trump family was seen gathering around Gaethje, with Ivanka's son, Joseph, holding one of the championship belts. The family was also seen beaming in a photo Ivanka shared to social media as they circled the commander-in-chief in the Octagon. A US service member was pictured saluting on stage at the event Sunday night Retired US Navy Captain and Medal of Honor recipient E Royce Williams was honored at the Freedom 250 celebration President Donald Trump is pictured arriving at the event with UFC CEO Dana White Members of the Trump family got some of the best seats in the house Forecasted rain held off for the night, allowing the fight card to get underway shortly after the original scheduled 8pm start. As the festivities came to an end, many declared the Freedom 250 event a success - with President Trump boasting on his Truth Social page that the night was 'PERFECT.'  But the night was not without controversy, with fighter Joe Hokit bizarrely telling the crowd, 'Michelle Obama is a man.' Another fighter, Sean Strickland, had to be escorted out of the event by US Secret Service and other law enforcement following his mocking comments about Jeffrey Epstein.  First Son Eric Trump also faced backlash on Monday after 'fake' leaked messages between him and former fighter Daniel Cormier asking if any of the White House fights were 'rigged' went viral. The controversy started when former fighter Daniel Cormier's X account posted messages that appeared to be from President Trump's middle son.  Ivanka Trump shared photos from her father's UFC birthday celebration on social media One of the photos showed the family posing with lightweight champion Justin Gaethje The president congratulated Justin Gaethje for his stoppage victory over Ilia Topuria In the supposed correspondence, Eric Trump asked if any of the fighters appearing at the UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House's South Lawn were injured, or if Cormier planned to place any bets.  It immediately sparked rampant 'cheating' concerns on social media. 'I'm probably going to get a lot of flak for bringing this to light, however I refuse to stay silent,' Cormier wrote in a caption posted with screengrabs of Eric Trump's supposed messages.  'The UFC is a sport that I am deeply passionate about. I will not tolerate this type of insider behavior. Shame on anyone trying to ruin this beautiful event.' The one-time fighter has since deleted the post and told DC-based journalist Nicholas Ballasy that his account had been hacked. 'They're not real,' Cormier said of the Eric Trump posts. 'I can't believe you guys believed that, like, who believes something like that?'  Sean Strickland was escorted out of a UFC Freedom 250 event by US Secret Service Daniel Cormier (left) alongside podcaster Joe Rogan (right) at the UFC Freedom 250 event Sunday night on the White House's South Lawn. Cormier has said the Eric Trump messages he received were fake and a result of a hack   'I got hacked or something,' Cormier added, talking to Ballasy as he departed the White House at the conclusion of the UFC event early Monday morning. The journalist then asked, 'So you didn't post it?' 'Why would I do that?' Cormier said, getting into his car.  Cormier posted a similar sentiment on his X account.   On his own social media accounts, Eric Trump made clear the messages were bogus.  'This is completely fake! I have never reached out to Daniel. In fact, this is scary,' he posted Sunday night as the fights were getting underway.  A 12-jet flyover is seen over the White House prior to UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday night  Fireworks were seen over the White House following UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn  The event drew more than 4,000 spectators to the White House's South Lawn UFC CEO Dana White now says such a spectacle at the White House will never occur again. 'It was an amazing experience, this was a one-of-one,' he said. 'It will never happen again.' He explained that the headaches over the weather for a rare outdoors show, the logistics of building the stage on the White House South Lawn and staging events at federal landmarks were logistical nightmares. Then, there were the soaring costs associated with having an event at the White House.  The UFC boasted of spending $60 million on UFC Freedom 250, which wasn't expected to turn a profit due to the tickets awarded to service members and the free watch party at the Ellipse abutting the White House's South Lawn. Meanwhile, Washington DC, spent an estimated $10 million to $12 million on security for the event. A city spokesman told ESPN that the city does not expect to be reimbursed by the UFC.  'I can't afford it,' White admitted. 'I'll never do the Sphere again and we'll never do this again.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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