UNITED NATIONS, January 31 -- In the run-up to George Clooney's press conference at the UN on Thursday morning, the hallway beside the Security Council was full of interns and staff members, straining to catch a glimpse of the actor.

They might have done better to wait, as Clooney spent the remainder of the day in UN headquarters, being shepherded from one interview to the next by a phalanx of handlers, including UN peacekeeping department staff. Some of the handling left much to be desired. Due to a surprising lack of advance diplomacy, Clooney's scheduled appearance before Troop Contributing Countries was cancelled.

Today we can add that France, too, questioned the proposed format, and insisted that no TV cameras be allowed. Finally Clooney's presentation was cancelled. Inner City Press asked UN associate spokesman Farhan Haq about it at the day's noon briefing, and Haq said diplomatically that "due to procedural issues, Mr. Clooney did not attend."

When Inner City Press asked what the procedural issues were, and if a member state had opposed Clooney's participation, Haq said that an outside person "can only speak once the consultation stage with Member States has been carried out."

Following Clooney's press conference, he was whisked to the CNN office facing the flags of First Avenue, then up to the 32nd floor to couple with one mainstream media outlet after another. A non-invited but enterprising reporter, Rima Abdelkader, managed to squeeze onto the elevator to 32, and asked for Clooney's view on the Security Council's inaction on the blockage of Gaza. "Sometimes you have to nudge them," Clooney said. Okay then.

Back in the UN basement, Clooney was interviewed by Fox News, about his support for Barack Obama. How is this support known? Well on Thursday, Clooney wore an Obama 08 bracelet, observed up-close by a journalist granted an interview. During the press conference, Clooney declined to comment on his support. No one asked about the letter Obama wrote to U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, saying that for the U.S. to agree to any text about Gaza, it should condemn by name Hamas. When asked about Afghanistan, Clooney also declined to comment.

January 31, 2026