Ted Lasso cast interrupted by vocal journalist before Trent Crimm makes White House debut in chaotic press conference

Jason Sudeikis and the cast of Ted Lasso got a bit more than they bargained for in the White House today (Picture: REUTERS)

The cast of Ted Lasso enjoyed a pretty chaotic trip to the White House this evening.

So much so, the actors – which included Hannah Waddingham, Jason Sudeikis, Brett Goldstein and Jeremy Swift – endured a real life heckle from a journalist who would not stop talking ahead of Jason’s turn on the mic.

The actors had arrived at the White House for a closed door meeting with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden to discuss mental health, which is a big theme of the hit Apple TV show. 

But before they did that, the cast thought they would drop in for a press conference in a decision they would perhaps come to regret.

While fictional football coach Ted Lasso is used to his fair share of awkward journalist encounters, but the actor behind the beloved character didn’t expect to be in the firing line himself.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre introduced the cast to the room, and according to Deadline, the journalist who can be heard talking loudly in the background was Simon Ateba of Today News Africa.

Trent Crimm is a fictional journalist from Ted Lasso (Picture: Apple TV+)

Season three of the beloved football show premiered last week (Picture: Apple TV+)

The audio isn’t clear, but he was reportedly complaining of not being called upon for a press conference for ‘months’.

‘No, no, no, we’re not doing this,’ said Karine as she spotted him in the crowd, but that didn’t stop Mr Ateba from continuing to interrupt the proceedings.

Things soon got awkward, as the Ted Lasso cast waited in the wings with their smiles looking increasingly forced.

Jason chatted about the importance of looking after your mental health at the White House (Picture: REUTERS)

Karine even apologised to the cast, as she simply stopped and waited for Mr Ateba to be quiet.

Eventually, he did stop, which allowed Jason to say his piece about mental health.

He said: ‘The big theme of the show is to check in with your neighbor, your co-worker, your friends, your family, and ask how they are doing, and listen, sincerely.

‘You all ask questions for a living, but you all listen for a living. So who am I preaching to? The choir, that is.’

He added: ‘And while it is easier said than done, we also have to know that we shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help ourselves.’

In an unexpected, and obviously pre-planned but no less delightful twist, Jason then took a question from the audience, and who was to be selected but Trent Crimm (The Independent), aka, Ted Lasso actor James Lance.

In character, James asked his co-star a football-related question: ‘How do you feel about Kansas City being one of the named hosting cities for the 2026 World Cup?’

Jason replied of his native Kansas: ‘Here I was hoping for a soft ball. Okay, erm, you know what? I’m very excited, truth be told.

‘Kansas City is one of those teams, you know, I love this town.

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‘What I am genuinely worried about is when we get all of these folks from around the world to come to Kansas City and see our city, eat our food, meet our people, you’re going to have a lot of folks who are going to want to move away’.

Season three, episode one of Ted Lasso is available to stream on Apple TV and other episodes are released every Wednesday. 

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Awkward.