Kal Penn

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Kal Penn Comes Out, Reveals He's Engaged

Actor has been with partner Josh for 11 years

(Newser) - Kal Penn revealed quite a bit of news Sunday: He's been in a relationship for 11 years, with a man, and they're now engaged. The Harold and Kumar actor and former member of the Obama administration tells People he discovered his sexuality "relatively late in life compared...

1st White House Department Quits in Protest of Trump Comments

The President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities is out

(Newser) - The first White House department has resigned in protest of President Trump's comments on neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and Charlottesville, Politico reports. The President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities—which includes actor Kal Penn, as well as artists, authors, and more—sent a letter to Trump Friday announcing...

Kal Penn Turns Racist Tweet Into Massive Fundraiser

More than $500K as of early Monday

(Newser) - Kal Penn has just turned lemons into lemonade—some pretty darn valuable lemonade. On Saturday the actor tweeted what looked to be an Instagram comment that read in part "you don't belong in this country you f---ing joke." Penn wrote, "To the dude who said I...

Russian Official May Think Actor Kal Penn Is a Terrorist

'I can't stop laughing'

(Newser) - We're trying to figure out if the Russian ambassador to Britain is unfamiliar with—or a huge fan of—American stoner comedies from the mid-2000s after he used a photo of actor Kal Penn to illustrate a tweet about terrorists Wednesday. The Washington Post reports Alexander Yakovenko tweeted a...

8 Celebs Who Have Taught College Classes

From Kanye West to Amal Clooney

(Newser) - With their surreal and sometimes bizarre lives, it's not surprising that celebrities are occasionally the subjects of college-level classes ( The Sociology of Miley Cyrus , anyone?), but some A-listers have also been inspired to get behind the lecture podium, too. Below are eight celebs who've moonlighted as college...

Clint Eastwood Cutout Gets Its Own Empty Chair

People still riffing on Republican National Convention appearance

(Newser) - For the past few months, a life-sized cardboard cutout of Clint Eastwood has been overlooking California's Glendale Freeway—and now it's been joined by an empty chair, the Los Angeles Times reports. The chair, of course, evokes Eastwood's RNC appearance , in which he spoke for 12 minutes...

Harold and Kumar Join Team Obama

Kal Penn, John Cho reprise roles in new ad

(Newser) - President Obama's latest supporters: Harold and Kumar. Kal Penn and John Cho reprise their stoner characters in a new Obama campaign video, in which the president makes a very important phone call asking Penn's Kumar for some help. Turns out that help involves Penn—a former member of...

Obama Campaign Co-Chairs: Eva Longoria, Kal Penn

Hollywood VIPs will play role in Election 2012

(Newser) - The Obama campaign has released a list of campaign co-chairs, and it includes some big names … from Hollywood. Harold and Kumar actor Kal Penn, who has already spent some time working at the White House , and Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria are both named, Politico reports. "The president’...

Actor Kal Penn Leaving White House for TV Role

His next gig will be on 'How I Met Your Mother'

(Newser) - Kal Penn is once again leaving behind his job as a bureaucrat to return to acting. Penn, whose big acting chops include Harold and Kumar and House, will leave his White House post in the Office of Public Engagement for a role on How I Met Your Mother, notes Perez...

'Kumar' Goes Back to White House

Actor Kal Penn wraps latest movie, returns to old job

(Newser) - Kal Penn—aka Kalpen Modi, aka Kumar—has once again traded in White Castle for the White House, reports ABC News. The actor best known for the Harold & Kumar movies left his gig at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in April to shoot a third one and today returned to his...

'Kumar' Robbed at Gunpoint
 'Kumar' Robbed at Gunpoint 
Apr 20, 2010 2:00 PM CDT

'Kumar' Robbed at Gunpoint

Actor Kal Penn wasn't hurt in DC incident

(Newser) - Actor Kal Penn—much better known as "Kumar" from the Harold and Kumar flicks—was robbed at gunpoint this morning in Washington, DC, reports TMZ . The incident happened as he was walking around 1:20am. He was unhurt. Penn has been in DC working for the Obama administration of...

'Kumar' Bails on White House Gig

Kal Penn leaves Obama administration to resume acting

(Newser) - Kal Penn is done with politics: The actor will resign as President Obama's associate director of public engagement to return to show business, starting with a new Harold & Kumar movie that begins shooting in June. The film will see the two buddies reunited at Christmastime under the direction of...

Other Celebs' 'Indefinite Breaks'
 Other Celebs' 'Indefinite Breaks' 
NOT JUST TIGER
Dec 12, 2009 6:32 AM CST

Other Celebs' 'Indefinite Breaks'

Michael Jordan played baseball; Daniel Day-Lewis cobbled

(Newser) - With his plan for an “ indefinite break ” from golf, Tiger Woods isn’t the only celebrity to take some time out of the limelight for one reason or another. The Wall Street Journal lists some others:
  • Michael Jordan: The Tiger pal left to try baseball after winning three
...

'Kumar' Begins White House Outreach Gig

Thespian won't accept acting gigs for a year or two while he focuses on politics

(Newser) - Kal Penn began work at the White House today, the Washington Post reports. The Harold and Kumar star, who later appeared on House, is the new associate director of the White House's Office of Public Engagement. Penn, 31, has committed to the job for a year or two, meaning he...

White House Holds Door Open for Celebs

(Newser) - Tiger Woods, Toby Keith, Usher, and Forest Whitaker have all visited the White House—in the past week, reports Politico, noting that Barack Obama hasn’t hesitated to pal around with celebrities at a pace unmatched by even Bill Clinton. And whereas Clinton’s celebrity calls were mostly fundraising efforts,...

After He Went to White Castle, Kumar Heads to White House

House actor Kal Penn will work for Obama

(Newser) - House fans may have been shocked last night when Kal Penn’s character committed suicide—but they might be more so to learn the actor is leaving for the White House. “Kal is a man with broader ambitions than the entertainment industry,” a producer tells Entertainment Weekly. Penn,...

Harold and Kumar Will Roll Again in Third Movie

Perma-stoned pair set to return for another installment in hit series

(Newser) - They've gone to White Castle, escaped from Guantanamo Bay, and they're still smoking. Harold and Kumar will be returning for a third movie, with John Cho and Kal Penn expected to again play the stoned pair, reports Variety. The writing team behind the first two hits will be back, but...

Harold and Kumar Slacks Off
 Harold and Kumar Slacks Off  
movie review
Apr 25, 2008 10:42 AM CDT

Harold and Kumar Slacks Off

Pacing poor, comedy wildly uneven

(Newser) - Sometimes it's hard not to laugh at the slacker/stoner comedy Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, writes James Berardinelli in ReelViews. At other times, it's hard not to cringe at the film, a sequel to Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. That's because the humor in Escape, about...

Harold and Kumar Transcends Race
 Harold and Kumar
 Transcends Race 
opinion
Apr 24, 2008 12:50 PM CDT

Harold and Kumar Transcends Race

Films set new standard for concepts of culture

(Newser) - Race underscores the stoner misadventures of Harold and Kumar—whose second film comes out tomorrow—but it’s not the point. The movies, about two friends who “just happen not to be white,” set a multicultural standard that Hollywood hasn’t figured out, writes Mark Olsen in the...

19 Stories