A-list celebrities, including Adam Sandler and Dwayne Johnson, skip Trump’s UFC Freedom 250

WASHINGTON, DC: After Freedom 250 concerts, Donald Trump’s ambitious plan to host a historic UFC fight night on the South Lawn is also facing a celebrity attendance problem of its own.

Held to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States, UFC Freedom 250, the first professional fight night ever staged on White House grounds, is already generating significant buzz ahead of its June 14 debut, which coincides with President Donald Trump's 80th birthday.

However, despite the hype around the event, organizers are struggling to secure celebrity star power, with a growing list of A-list celebrities opting to skip the invitation to the fight.

A-list celebrities decline UFC Freedom 250 invitations

Behind the fanfare, the UFC president Dana White and White House staff have mounted an intensive effort to secure a marquee lineup of celebrity guests to match the sheer scale of the $60 million production.

Previously, White revealed that invites have been sent to a number of Hollywood heavyweights, including Adam Sandler, Guy Ritchie, Tom Brady, Jared Leto, Jason Statham, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and TV host Mario Lopez.

However, the relentless efforts to maintain the event's hype appear to have fallen flat with several A-listers declining to attend the UFC fight.

Representatives of Johnson, Sandler, and Leto have confirmed to Vanity Fair that they won't be attending the event. Meanwhile, Brady, Ritchie, and Statham are yet to deliver a verdict on their attendance.

With seating limited to roughly 4,300 spectators inside the temporary arena, tickets are expected to be among the most sought-after in Washington.

UFC CEO Dana White said 1,000 tickets have been allocated to President Donald Trump, while White and UFC owner Ariel Emanuel each received 200.

Freedom 250 concerts face similar celebrity pullouts

The trend of celebrities opting out of White House events has seen a significant spike in Trump's second term, with stars increasingly hesitant to align themselves with highly partisan administration events.

Most recently, a concert series planned for the National Mall as part of America's 250th anniversary celebrations suffered a major collapse after almost every artist invited to perform at the concerts pulled out.

Several of the artists, including Milli Vanilli, Bret Michaels, and Martina McBride, said they were told the show would be a nonpartisan event before they announced they pulled out.

Others, like Vanilla Ice, were blindsided after they declined to leave with the mass exodus when Trump insulted all the performers and canceled the concert altogether.

In response, Trump scrapped the concert plans in favor of a campaign rally, while dismissing the artists who pulled out as "third-rate" performers in a series of social media posts.

“We don’t want singers with no talent, but big fees to put you to sleep; we’ve told them all to stay home,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. “All we want is you, me, a few speakers, and the Greatest Music ever played, the same Music you have listened to for years!”

In place of the original concert plans, Trump has hand-picked a couple of artists to perform at the event: opera singer Christopher Macchio and 83-year-old country singer Lee Greenwood.