Larry David jokes he was 'relieved' to be uninvited from Barack Obama's birthday bash

Larry David is sharing his comical reaction to being uninvited from Barack Obama's birthday party.

The comedian, 74, revealed in a New York Times interview that he received an unexpected call from the former president's assistant and automatically assumed he would be asked to perform a last-minute stand-up routine. When David later learned he was uninvited from the controversial celebration, he was "relieved."

“I was pretty glum when I finally called back his assistant,” David told the Times in an email. “When he told me I was eighty-sixed from the party, I was so relieved, I screamed, ‘Thank you! Thank you!’ He must have thought I was insane."

After hearing the news, David said he then "hung up the phone, poured myself a drink and finished my crossword puzzle.”

At the start of the pandemic, David joked about his excitement for quarantining in a COVID-19 PSA, urging people to stay at home and watch TV.

“The problem is you're passing up a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stay in the house, sit on the couch and watch TV,” David quipped in April 2020.

Original story: Barack Obama scales back 60th birthday bash due to coronavirus concerns

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Obama held an outdoor birthday bash in his Martha's Vineyard mansion for his 60th birthday earlier this month, which was scaled back due to concerns about the rapid spread of COVID-19.

Comedian Stephen Colbert, 57, also joked on his "Late Show" that he was axed from the festivities. According to the late night host, he and his wife, Evelyn, were initially invited and "totally going," but were told plans had changed five days before the event.

"(Obama) decided to celebrate by throwing this huge blowout on Martha's Vineyard and everybody who was anybody was going to be there, including yours truly," Colbert said.

"But given the whole pandemic thing and the delta variant, a celebrity mosh pit was maybe not the wisest choice, so Obama decided to scale back the guest list for his party. He was forced to limit the invites to only his closest Beyoncé's."

He clarified that he didn't make the cut.

"I know what you're thinking. 'So Steve, what was the party like?' I don't know, I didn't (expletive) go," he added. "In the massive scaling back, I got massively scaled."

The Obamas were met with criticism for throwing a maskless affair as the delta variant continues to spread, but spokesperson Hannah Hankins told USA TODAY on Aug. 4 that his outdoor birthday bash "was planned months ago in accordance with all public health guidelines and with COVID safeguards in place."

All guests were required to adhere to all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention public health protocols, including a testing regimen managed by a COVID-19 coordinator. High-profile guests in attendance included H.E.R., John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Barack Obama birthday: Larry David, Stephen Colbert were uninvited