George Clooney Explodes at Businessman for Slamming Obama: He 'Threw a Hissy Fit,' Says Steve Wynn
'It Had Nothing to Do With Politics and Everything to Do With Character,' Says Actor
George Clooney blew up at Steve Wynn, the hotel magnate and businessman, for slamming President Obama in a conversation during dinner at the Encore Hotel in Las Vegas. Clooney, Wynn and others were meeting for dinner because the actorswas in town promoting his Casamigos tequila at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America convention two weeks ago. He ended up storming out because the mogul insulted Obama, whom he considers a "longtime friend."
"He called the president an 'a------' … that is a fact," Clooney said in an emailed statement to The Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I said the President was my longtime friend and then he said, 'Your friend is an a------' … At that point I told Steve that HE was an a------ and I wasn't going to sit at his table while he was being such a jacka--. And I walked out."
"It had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with character," Clooney added.
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Wynn, the rich casino developer, avid GOP supporter and outspoken opponent of Obama, tells a different story. He said the trouble began when another dinner guest made a joke about Mikhail Gorbachev, which caused Clooney to have a "hissy fit." Things only got worse when he brought up the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
"I think my discussion about the Affordable Care Act was the straw that broke the camel's back," Wynn explained, adding that Clooney had "gotten drunk" off of several shots of tequila. "When he's drinking, he considers himself a close personal buddy of the President."
After that, Wynn claims the "Ocean's Eleven" actor said, "I don't have to listen to this [expletive] stuff," and left.
The conflicting stories pit word against word, but Rande Gerber, Clooney's business partner for Casamigos tequila, said George's account was more accurate, and that "no shots were had" during the dinner.
"This wasn't about politics. It was about George standing up for a friend," he told TMZ.
Despite the blowout, Wynn's hotels still stock Casamigos tequila.
