Martin Sheen Not Going To RFK Jr. Gala, ‘West Wing’ Cast Says; Organizers Insist Fictional POTUS’ Reps Confirmed Attendance – Update

UIPDATED with statement from RFK Jr gala organizers: The arguably greatest fictional TV POTUS ever is not endorsing the White House bid of Robert Kennedy Jr., and Martin Sheen sure as hell isn’t showing up as a warm prop at any RFK Jr fundraiser anytime soon.

About a week ago, invites went out for a self-described “gala” on January 22 to celebrate the independent candidate’s 70th birthday. Sheen, Mike Tyson and Dionne Warwick were reported to be attending the event as “well-wishers.” On Thursday, some of President Jed Bartlet’s old West Wing staff have gone public to declare their old boss has no intention of attending.

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In fact, via Bradley Whitford and Mary McCormack, Sheen says he remains an avowed supporter of incumbent Joe Biden, not RFK Jr.

“The Indian Wells fundraiser is a PAC event,” the RFK Jr campaign told Deadline today. “The campaign doesn’t have anything to do with organizing of this event. The campaign has no knowledge of who is attending and can’t confirm or deny anyone’s participation, either as entertainment or as a guest.”

Then it gets confusing.

“We would not have included Mr. Sheen in our list of attendees had we not received confirmation that he was attending,” a spokesperson for the Fighting 4 One America PAC informed Deadline of Sheen’s participation in the January 22 RFK Jr event. The organizers of the event, who are referred to as Silent Majority 4 RFK Jr. on the invite, say they were told by the CAA-repped Sheen’s team at Special Artists Agency that the long time activist “would be delighted to attend.”

We have reached out to CAA for clarification, and will update this post if and when they respond.

In the meantime, 83-year-old Grace and Frankie alum Sheen and the equally iconic 83-year-old Warwick, who also mocked the gala and said she is not involved, are both clearly not going to be part of the Palm Desert event, it is pretty certain.

A son of Sen. Robert Kennedy and a nephew of President John F. Kennedy, former environmental attorney RFK Jr launched a bid for the Democrats’2024 presidential nomination last spring. Certain to lose to Biden in that effort and accusing the Democratic National Committee of “rigging” the primary process, Kennedy shifted to an independent campaign in October 2023. The candidate’s anti-vaccine stance, which he has denied even when shown video of him decrying getting vaxed, plus appearances with the likes of much sued conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and far-right organizations had failed to gain him much traction with fellow Democrats.

Even members of Kennedy’s own family have come out against him.

“The decision of our brother Bobby to run as a third-party candidate against Joe Biden is dangerous to our country,” read a social media post last fall signed by four of his siblings. “Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment,” Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Joseph P. Kennedy II, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend added. “Today’s announcement is deeply saddening for us. We denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country.”

RFK Jr. is the third of the 11 children of RFK and Ethel Kennedy.

Portrayed by Sheen for seven award-winning seasons on the Aaron Sorkin-created The West Wing, President Bartlet was always a fan of the Kennedys. Like the real-life 35^th POTUS and his family, Bartlet is a Democrat and a Catholic (as is Joe Biden). Sheen also played JFK in the 1983 miniseries Kennedy and RFK in 1974’s The Missiles of October.

While Sheen and Warwick are not appearing at the January 22 event, at least one Hollywood star will be: RFK Jr’s wife and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines has been a strong supporter of her spouse and his campaign and has been a constant on the trail.

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