For six seasons, Allison Janney starred in The West Wing as Press Secretary C.J. Cregg for the fictional President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) , before her character was eventually promoted to Chief of Staff in the seventh and final season. It’s been ten years since Janney appeared in character, but that changed at yesterday’s White House press briefing.
To the surprise of the real White House press corps, Janney appeared at yesterday’s press briefing in character as C.J., and claimed that she was filling in for the real Press Secretary, Josh Earnest. Some of the reporters must have been West Wing fans as well, as they appeared to gasp at her entrance and laughed at her references to the series.
After a few moments, Janney broke character and revealed that she is in Washington for this weekend’s annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. In mock seriousness, she said that President Obama is “still working on his jokes for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. I don’t have any details on that, other than he intends to be funny.”
At the invitation of Earnest, Janney also spoke from the heart about opiate addiction, an issue that she is attempting to bring attention to this weekend alongside Chuck Lorre, the co-creator of Janney’s CBS sitcom, Mom.
But Janney ended things on a lighter note when she fielded one last question in character as C.J., much to the amusement of the press.
What did you think about Janney’s return as C.J.? Cast your votes in the comment section below!
