The Biden White House loves celebrity guests. On Monday, the cast of Ted Lasso came for a visit with Joe and Jill Biden and the topic of discussion was mental health. I’ll leave you to make your own jokes about that. One person who was not overcome with celebrity worship at the mere sight of the cast members was Today News Africa correspondent Simon Ateba. He has been frozen out by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (KJP) and he’s not happy about that.

He sent the press briefing into chaos, as the reporting goes, by confronting KJP in front of her famous guests when she brought them into the room. The cast was amused at the disruption. Other reporters, however, came to KJP’s rescue, not bothering to stick up for a colleague who is consistently ignored by the press secretary. Swampy.

Jason Sudeikis was set to discuss mental health with the co-stars from the award-winning show when Today News Africa correspondent Simon Ateba started shouting at President Biden’s press secretary.

‘You’re making a mockery of the First Amendment … It’s been seven months and you have not called on me,’ he said to the press secretary while the cast looked on in bemusement.

‘You’ve been discriminating against me and discrimination against some people in the briefing,’ he shouted while other members of the press and Sudeikis and other celebrities looked on.

‘This is not China, this is not Russia,’ he added as reporters then interjected and told him they were fed up with his conduct. Jean-Pierre has frequently admonished Ateba in the past, but this time journalists in the room demanded he quiet himself so that the day’s only event to interact with a senior White House official could begin.

‘You are impinging on everybody in here who’s only trying to do their job,’ reporter Brian Karem said and another correspondent said: ‘The rest of us are here too, pal’.

Perhaps you’ve seen Ateba on Tucker Carlson’s show. Carlson has previously brought him on to tell his story. He’s an African reporter who has consistently been ignored by KJP who does not like his questions. He asks real questions instead of lobbing softballs to KJP as many in the press corps do so she just quit calling on him during the briefings. That has at times led him to jump in without being called on and blurting out questions. That always leads to a rowdy back and forth because Ateba refuses to back down. On Monday, she said to Ateba, ‘No. No. No. We’re not doing this. We’re not doing this.’

Attacked by pirates on the Gulf of Guinea with an AK47 to my head, kidnapped in Nigeria, dumped in the woods & left for dead, arrested in Cameroon during investigation & kept in dark cell only to be sidelined at the White House. This is how Tucker Carlson introduced me to America pic.twitter.com/bOLujRzKfi

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 14, 2023

Ateba calls the Daily Mail article about the press briefing as racist because it reported that he disrupted it. He also called out AP reporter Zeke Miller

This @WhiteHouse Correspondent @ZekeJMiller for @AP is a disgrace to the First Amendment and journalism. He believes he's better than me. But he's not. He apologized to @PressSec Karine Jean-Pierre today for discriminating against me for seven months. In the past 7 months, as I… https://t.co/orP9jhZDEx pic.twitter.com/kYJY5qxSro

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 20, 2023

The White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) issued a statement condemning the chaos, er decorum breakdown.

Instead of standing for me, @whca @tamarakeithNPR of @NPR attacks me in letter to her WHCA members. pic.twitter.com/xRjdWmpLN4

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 20, 2023

One person’s lack of decorum is another person’s frustration at being ignored in the workplace. It’s reported that he has received multiple complaints and the WHCA has warned him about his behavior.

Anyway, after all of that was over, Jason Sudeikis spoke about mental illness. He plays the lead role, Ted Lasso, in the award-winning Apple TV+ show. Because who else but television stars to advise on coping with mental health issues, right? Sudeikis spoke about the importance of checking on family and friends and being able to ask for help yourself. Ted Lasso regularly speaks to the team therapist in the show.

Sudeikis was joined at the podium by Brett Goldstein, who plays Roy Kent; Hannah Waddingham, who plays Rebecca Welton; Toheeb Jimoh, who plays Sam Obisanya; and Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard. The third season of the show recently premiered on AppleTV+.

They were scheduled to meet with Joe and Jill after they visited the briefing room.

Last night, Joe Biden previewed today’s visit. He and/or his staff aren’t very good at keeping secrets.

Tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/XPNAfqnzEj

— President Biden (@POTUS) March 19, 2023

Sleepy Joe doesn’t have as many celebs as Obama did in the White House but he does the best he can.