Jon Favreau was set to attend the UFC Freedom 250 event in Washington, D.C., after mistakenly receiving an invitation that was later revoked.
On a recent episode of “Pod Save America,” the host – who also served as a speech writer for Barack Obama and has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump – explained that he got an email invite to the UFC fight taking place at the White House later in June. He was quick to accept.
“I’m just going to read aloud to all of you an email I received on March 25,” Favreau said. “It’s from TKO Events, and the subject line of the email is UFC Freedom 250: ‘Jon. We are honored to invite you to UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday, June 14, a special evening celebrating our country.’”
He added: “Possibilities were endless, so I RSVP’d. I got this follow-up on April 2. ‘Your ticket to UFC Freedom 250 in Washington, DC, on June 14 is confirmed.’ I made plans. … I bought a ticket to D.C.”
The Crooked Media co-founder knew exactly how the mixup happened. Like many people online, Favreau was obviously mistaken for the famous director of the same name. That Jon Favreau has been behind the camera for movies like “Iron Man” and, more recently, the new Star Wars film, “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” The host said he got found out when he submitted his full name, including his middle initial, which was different than the director’s. He then got a followup email in April saying his invite had been revoked.
“Our sincerest apologies, but we’ve just discovered there was a miscommunication about our allotted number of guest invitations for UFC Freedom 250 on June 14,” the email read. “Unfortunately, as a result, we are under-allotted and no longer able to accommodate your attendance. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for your understanding. We would love to host you at a future event.”
Favreau was clearly bummed the mistake got noticed. He saw an endless number of possibilities in attending the fight.
“F–k, I was so close,” he said. “They got me.”
The UFC fight happening in front of the White House is set to take place on June 14. It’s the start of a massive kickoff for the country’s 250th birthday celebration – while also being a party for Trump’s birthday.
Watch Favreau’s full explanation above.
