Aretha Spends $2K Per Minute to Be Near Obama

Aretha Franklin paid the $40,000 ticket price to attend Sarah Jessica Parker's Obama fundraiser last night, but left after just 20 minutes. That means she spent $2,000 per minute to be there, TMZ helpfully calculates. Apparently it was worth it, because she described the food ("chicken with a mustard sauce, diced tomatoes, and lots of relishes on the side of the plate") as "very tasty." In an entertaining response on Gawker, Caity Weaver wonders, "Do you think Sarah Jessica Parker fretted and fretted over the menu before convincing herself (incorrectly) that, since Obama probably eats fancy food all the time, what he'd really enjoy is her famous 'Chicken a la Mustard with a lot of relishes on the side'?"

The fundraiser, co-hosted by Anna Wintour, was attended by all sorts of other boldface names, Politico notes, including Meryl Streep and designer Michael Kors but not including SJP's husband Matthew Broderick, who was performing in a Broadway show, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Their son was there, however, and once interrupted the president with applause, leading Obama to joke, "He wanted to fire up the crowd." Another amusing story, per the New York Post: Wintour was apparently not happy with SJP's "shabby chic" furniture, and thus oversaw a total overhaul of her house before the fundraiser began. Daily Intel rounds up tweets describing the mayhem outside the fundraiser. (More Sarah Jessica Parker stories.)