Kumar Goes to the White House
by Guy BensonAccording to the Wall Street Journal (and linked in the headlines), actor Kal Penn–known best as Kumar, a pot-smoking, fun-loving, trouble-seeking character in the profoundly stupid Harold and Kumar series–is leaving Hollywood to work in the Obama administration:
Penn, best known for his roles as Kumar Patel in the “Harold & Kumar” movies and most recently as Dr. Lawrence Kutner on the television series “House” told EW.com that he will be associate director in the White House office of public liaison.
“They do outreach with the American public and with different organizations. They’re basically the front door of the White House,” Penn said. “They take out all of the red tape that falls between the general public and the White House. It’s similar to what I was doing on the campaign.”
The Chicago Sun Times reports that Penn will be working with the Asian-American and arts communities. His start date is unknown. The office is run by senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett.
Penn was among many celebrities backing Barack Obama in his presidential campaign, and he spent a lot of his personal time volunteering for the campaign. The actor acknowledged that he will take a significant pay cut. “There’s not a lot of financial reward in these jobs. But, obviously, the opportunity to serve in a capacity like this is an incredible honor,” he said. (First daughters Malia and Sasha are also reportedly fans.)
Yes, that pay cut will be tough to stomach for Penn, but Malia and Sasha love him! He’s doing it for the children!
Incidentally, for fans of House, Fox has posted absolutely preposterous “memorial” website for Penn’s character in the show, who committed suicide in last night’s episode. It features a photo of the “deceased,” an “obituary,” and a link where fans can bid farewell to the departed “doctor.” How utterly bizarre and macabre.
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83 Comments
I kind of liked this guy until I heard this. Although, I'm kinda surprised that I'm surprised. He is a Hollywood actor after all.
Well, last night "Dr Kutner" committed suicide and House, ever the analytical one, was trying to figure it out. As for me I'm thinking his contract ended. So this is the answer…
Working for Obama?
Shocking.
I really like how the guy that played Harrold got cast as Sulu in the new upcoming blockbuster Star Trek movie. Meanwhile this guy packs up and becomes a desk jockey.
How would the first daughters be fans? There is no way they have seen any of the movies that he has a prominent role in.
House has just gotten better and the government has just gotten worse.
ah! where the hell is the spoiler alert? Thanks a lot!
Life imitating art? or Politics run by Hollywood?
when i see him i want a hamburger…
He thought he needed to commit suicide after working for the medical messiah "House?" Wait until he's had a year or two working for the real messiah.
When you consider the majority of dimwits working for Obama, he's probably a little overqualified for the job.
When 'The One' was elected Ashton Kutcher did a video with all of his mates pledging 'servitude' to Barry- if memory serves us correct Penn was one of them; therefore he is living up to his promise. As dreary as it might be…
I saw an interview with Kal Penn after he was on "24" and he basically said he did that show for the money, and didn't believe in the overall theme of the show. So, I am not shocked. . .although I'm still ready for this to be a late April Fool's joke.
I was really sad after last night's episode. My wife and I were shocked. But then, I saw and LA times (or something) article saying he was working for Obama, and decided that I like the suicide in the show better than Kutner just quitting, like the other characters are wont to do. Suicide says, "That's it. You're never going to be on this show again. Good luck, and don't let the door hit you." Normally, people standing up for their ideals and putting their money where their mouth is is something to be applauded. But, I disagree with the ideals he's standing up for, so I can't approve of his action.
Ah well, at least he's actually willing to put his money where his mouth is. I may not like his politics, but I'll give him credit for that. At least until I hear the punchline on this one– as there is sure to be one. Wouldn't it be hilarious if he only works for The One for a month or two, realizes he can't live on his new paycheck, quits and goes back to acting? Somehow I doubt that will get the same headlines.
If he wanted to burn his bridges he did an incredible job.
Death of a primary leaves no options for a return to earn a paycheck, obviously.
Oh, well, I didn't take much notice of him before his demise.
OMG SPOILER ALERT WAS NECESSARY Guy Benson! some of us DVR. Thanks a frickin' lot. House is only one of two shows I watch anymore and now you've gone and ruined last night's episode.
Bad lawyers become judges and politicians.
Bad actors go to work for the Obama Administration.
So we have a guy who plays a pot smoker going to work for a real pot smoker. What's the story?
So Oballah's kids are connoisseurs of pot-head humor! Maybe decriminalization of Mary J is indeed in the works. I nominate Cheech and Chong to head the office of White House Drug Czar! Any seconds???
I swear, as I was reading this, I kept waiting for the leprachaun at the end of the article to jump out and boink me with a shamrock yelling 'April fools'. But – there was no leprachaun. This isn't a joke.
Hold it. It IS a joke. A bad one. On the nation. Oh, Lord.
This depressed me considerably. I was already upset at the stupid way they got rid of his character, and how everyone came out of the woodwork to say "Oh that makes perfect sense, people just up and kill themselves with no warning or signs all the time." Then I found out he was campaigning for Obama, and now he's a full-blown cult member giving up acting to evangelize for the idiot-in-chief.
Add to that every single media outlet reporting that troops 'cheered wildly' for Obama when he showed up in Iraq. Not that they cheered. Not that they showed support. 'Cheered wildly', repeated by every single news source. Nevermind that it seemed like perfectly normal greeting for a visiting president, nevermind that the 600 soldiers selected to meet him were undoubtedly big fans anyway (just like all of the people selected to see Obama). Our troops 'cheered wildly' the man who called them indiscriminate murderers and the war they're fighting 'dumb'.
I give up. I just give up. This hurts too much to do anymore. The whole world is in thrall to an obvious fraud, there's nothing we can do. I give up.
This depressed me considerably. I was already upset at the stupid way they got rid of his character, and how everyone came out of the woodwork to say "Oh that makes perfect sense, people just up and kill themselves with no warning or signs all the time." Then I found out he was campaigning for Obama, and now he's a full-blown cult member giving up acting to evangelize for the idiot-in-chief.
Add to that every single media outlet reporting that troops 'cheered wildly' for Obama when he showed up in Iraq. Not that they cheered. Not that they showed support. 'Cheered wildly', repeated by every single news source. Nevermind that it seemed like perfectly normal greeting for a visiting president, nevermind that the 600 soldiers selected to meet him were undoubtedly big fans anyway (just like all of the people selected to see Obama). Our troops 'cheered wildly' the man who called them indiscriminate murderers and the war they're fighting 'dumb'.
I give up. I just give up. This hurts too much to do anymore. The whole world is in thrall to an obvious fraud, there's nothing we can do. I give up.
If you visit the "Memorial Site", There are comments from his friends & co-workers. The most eloquent one was from his boss, Dr. House.
Nothing. That says it all.
Write your comment here…Well, let's just hope he stays there.
What, there weren't any other actors who were unemployed that could have taken this job?? He had a job already. I thought the idea was to employ the unemployed…
What, there wasn't any other actors who were unemployed that could have taken this job?? He had a job already. I thought the idea was to employ the unemployed…
So basically you approve of people putting their money where your mouth is?
I certainly hope Penn didn't break his "contract" to join the Obummer cult. This move absolutely makes no sense at all. Penn's slavish devotion to The One not only derailed House but diminished anything I ever saw in the Kutner character. I kinda saw him as an odd duck to begin with and then when the show offed him, I wondered if it was a contract dispute, Penn leaving for better pastures (is Obummer a better pasture?), or if they just fired him? Finding out the context makes me begin to think Penn is a bit of a nitwit like his character Kutner.
Penn is yet another example of what happens when people don't critically think, believe in a political ideology more than they do their own country or career. Last night, I thought I would miss him, and after discovering the real reason behind his demise, I no longer will mourn. Politics is the best destination for bored/underwhelming actors like Penn.
True enough FuneralGuy. But you should be shocked. This is a guy whose ideology based on interviews in mags does not align with Obama in the slightest. He is libertarian. But I don't think he even realizes it. But jump on that Hollywood bandwagon.
In a word: yes. Standing up for your ideals can be a hard thing to do, and people who stand up for what they believe are usually appluaded. It can't have been easy to leave a very successful and lucrative career in show biz for the uncertain and ever-changing world of politics. But, certain causes aren't worth supporting. After all, Muslim terrorists are simply standing up for what they believe, and I can't comprehend how strapping bombs to oneself is easy. Supporting causes you disagree with is stupid. I disagree with supporting Obama, so Penn's move from show biz doesn't move me.
Obama has a real potential to seriously damage Americans' rights. We need to discourage anyone who wants to help Obama strip us of our rights as citizens in the greatest country on Earth.
No big loss for the show. I dvr it, so I haven't seen it yet(I watch "Chuck" first over "House")."13" is the only intersesting character of the new trio. With Kutner gone, now they can bring back Jennifer Morrison's character back into the fold.
He can't be much of a libertarian if he is going to work for the White Hou….er Kremlin.
Well, his character committed suicide, so that the actor can commit career suicide. He was a rising star, after the Harold & Kumar movies, 24, the Van Wilder movies, The Namesake, and House. Now if spends the next three years in the White House, people in Hollywood will be saying "Kal who?". They will have already moved on to other actors by that time.
Remember these guys are actors. Any resemblence to the Kutner character is well, just acting.
Hey, if this dope wants to take a pay cut to work for Obama, well, that pretty much tells you all you need to know.
I hate the expression "outreach". Sick of it. It´s an artificial, ugly, bureaucratic word.
Sort of like the guy who starred with a monkey in Bedtime for Bonzo?
Or more like the guy who was nothing but a draft dodger, a "C" student, and the executive at a couple of companies that lost money?
Just try not to get picked up by Dougie Howser when you're hitchhiking back…
Just try not to get picked up by Doogie Howser when you're hitchhiking back…
That's the most ambiguous job title I've heard in a long time: Associate Director of the Office of Public Liaison? So what's he gonna be? The doorman? More of our tax dollars at work.
http://the100mostannoyingthings.blogspot.com/
Pot smoking? I doubt that bunch of Space Cadets and Egg Heads in the White House will even notice. He should fit right in.
[...] Big Hollywood] Share and [...]
This is what I want to know–does Obama show Harold and Kumar to his daughters? Or was it the bit part in Superman Returns that they most loved him for?! (Yeah, somehow I don't think a show as complex as House would ahve much (any?) appeal to two little girls.)
I agree with you. While I disagree with his world view, I applaud him for doing something that 99% of the other celebutards would never have the guts to do. And who knows? Once he sees how the sausage is really made, maybe he will think twice about his hero worship.
At least they worked in the same job for more than two years at a stretch. And, they were actual jobs. What does a communtiy organizer do again?
Suddenly I'm not bent out of shape over Kutner offing himself on House Monday night.
The only thing that could keep him from getting a place in the Obama administration is all those taxes he actually paid.
I knew Penn was an Obama supporter last year when I saw a picture of him at the convention – looked like he was working it and I recently found out that he WAS working the convention.
I can't stand his politics but he seems to be a nice enough guy. I hope he's happy with his new position and I wish him all the best.
Thank you for giving me hope that not everyone on this site is so angry and bitter. Bravo!
No, more like the guy who thinks Austrian is a language and couldn't find his butt unless the teleprompter told him it was below his back, but above his thighs.
Perfect, another clown in this buffoon's parade. Keep bringing' em in, oh great and mighty Oz.
Heh.
When I saw the headline, "Penn leaves acting", I was saying wooohooo. Only to realize, wrong Penn.
Isn't working for the Obama White House like committing suicide anyway? And all this time I didn't realize Kal Penn was a tax cheat…
It's better than the IRS expression, "reach around."
Did you think of that all by your little self? Good for you. We're so proud.
Thanks for giving me hope that some of our trolls can spell. Bravo!
I was thinking the same. I've been aware of his politics and, those differences aside he seems like generally likeable fellow. Besides, if this is what he wants to do at this point in his life then why not, as long as he's not carrying the nuclear football.
apparently, he is willing to take this whole suicide thing beyond the screen if he thinks going to work for Obama is a step in *any* direction other than a downward spiral. A few years from now we'll see a dishevelled "Kumar" wondering what the long strange trip was really all about.
Listen. I really liked watching 'House' until I realized the political innuendo that was being disseminated via that show.
Like House sitting in the can with a 'Change '08' bumper sticker on the wall behind him.
Or the episode where Foreman said "some people once thought that blacks made good farm implements"
(An obvious reference to slavery and one of the myriad paybacks for it would be electing Obama)
When I heard Penn on the radio just before the election yapping to college students about the greatness of one Barack Hussein Obama, that was the kicker for me.
I could no longer stomach the show.
Hugh Laurie is, after all, British. A fine actor he may be but now all he does is remind me of that greasy, long-haired prick Russell Brand.
I'd rather see that hot CIA doctor instead!
You mean the "C" student that had a higher GPA than John F'ing Kerry? That "C" student?
Or the draft dodger William Jefferson Clinton? That draft dodger??
You asshat liberals really have to quit throwing stones, you know? Every time one of you idiots open your mouth with the human failings of a conservative, it always seems that the next day information much worse about one of your liberal icons comes out. Like Biden's daughter. But Sarah Palin's daughter's ex-fiance's mother selling drugs is MUCH worse, right?
Normally, I would say don't give up, just have faith, but you are an atheist…;-)
LMAO!
God complex = envy?
I was a bit bummed after the show, now I’m better. Actually I liked his character, he replaced Cameron as House’s conscience.
Wow, that episode arc on "kumar" was.. interesting. The cast reacting to his removal was hilarious, the emo was so thick I had to blink a few time to flush out the angst and "confusion" coming from all those actors. I have no doubt all of those turkeys are privately downing a few back in celebration since now they all will be getting more air time for this.
I've been drifting away from this show for some time because of the soap opera on acid with House being the nasty glue that dragged me back in every time. But it's continuous acts of Bad Boy in the House was getting a bit of a stretch recently. I'm guessing this will be a fine time to say toodles.
This just gave me another reason to dislike the president. Kutner was my favorite character on the show.
I wonder if Kal will suffer the Pernell Roberts effect…
Do we really need spoiler alerts the day after something airs? I mean, I understand wanting to be surprised and all. It wouldn't have been courteous to post this, say, before the show aired on the West Coast. But the story's all over the Internet today anyway, and at some point, even those of us who DVR have to expect things to be revealed. Sometimes I DVR things and don't watch them for weeks; I can't expect everyone to tiptoe around me till I get them watched.
Do we really need spoiler alerts the day after something airs? I mean, I understand wanting to be surprised and all. It wouldn't have been courteous to post this, say, before the show aired on the West Coast. But the story's all over the Internet today anyway, and at some point, even those of us who DVR have to expect things to be revealed. Sometimes I DVR things and don't watch them for weeks; I can't expect everyone to tiptoe around me till I get them watched.
The whole thing was already so bizarre and random, it just needed the "He left because he's going to work for Obama!" to add the finishing touch.
Kal Penn will so realize after working in Washington that "there's no hope in dope(Obama)".
I guess what I'm implying is the kid is mixed up. In interviews he talks about reductions of regulation, letting be live however they want essentially as long as they aren't hurting others, getting rid of drug laws, etc. These are libertarian ideals, not liberal ideals. But he supports the Dems. I don't think he fully understand what he believes and who represents what he believes.
SPOILER ALERT. COME ON. HAVE SOME SENSE OF TACT.
My question exactly. How long should one wait before considering "spoiler alerts" unnecessary? One Day? One Week? 6 months for those a bit behind?
Maybe this step can be henceforth known as the "Joaquin Phoenix step"?
He was evil on "24", too.
Harold and Kumar go to Whitehouse…LMAO!
[...] guess its a cost benefit analysis at this point. According to the Wall Street Journal (and linked in the headlines), actor Kal Penn–known best as [...]
So…those talking point copy and paste lessons from HuffPo and Daily Kos have been paying off, heh?
After seeing how he fell for "White Bitch" in "Epic Movie" is it any wonder that he would so easily fall for Obambi?
Hope he paid his taxes.
Kumar most owe lots of taxes !! I can only imagine how long it will be before Wesley Snipes is nominated for something.
no, they only want friends and family employed. Just ask Biden and his family and their millions in payment from his campaigns.
First of all I'm not liberal. Second of all, the Republican party in not fiscally conservative at all.
I'm a fiscal conservative and a libertarian. Of course, you are too busy fighting over Michelle's Obama's shoe choices to discuss real issues.
The point is that Republicans are fighting Democrats over ridiculous issues, like hiring an actor to hold a minor position in the administration, when #1) there are real issues to discuss and #2) the goddamned holy Messiah of the current Republican party was a frickin' actor.
And yes, John Kerry was a C-student. And yes, Bill Clinton was a draft dodger.
My problem with both men isn't that they were C-students and draft dodgers, it's that they spend money like drunken sailors (just like Republicans do).
And unfortunately the federal government under Reagan, GHWBush and GWBush (and Clinton) was also filled with hundreds of thousands of such useless positions. Until Republicans can actually make the government smaller and spend less money, for even one year, they have no reason to bitch when their political opponents do the exact same thing with the power they were given by the people.
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