Grindr’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner pre-party is the hottest ticket in Washington

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner has long anchored Washington's spring social calendar, drawing journalists, lawmakers, celebrities, and power brokers to the capital for a week of networking, spectacle, and celebration of the press. But this year, one of the most coveted invitations isn't to the dinner itself — it’s to a party the night before.

The invitation arrived in early April with a subject line that quickly became a kind of social currency: "Grindr's Hosting – WHCD Weekend Party."

Since then, one question has ricocheted through D.C.’s overlapping worlds of media, politics, and advocacy: Are you going? The answers tend to fall into two camps: “yes,” or “I’m trying to get on the list.”

Some of the country’s most prominent media figures received the invitation. So did LGBTQ+ politicians, Hill staffers, and allies. In a matter of weeks, the event has emerged as one of the most sought-after invitations of the Correspondents’ Dinner weekend.

The dating app Grindr is hosting its inaugural pre-party, staking out space in a week defined by exclusivity and access. The Advocate will be attending.

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The invitation, sent by Joe Hack, Grindr’s head of global government affairs, previews the event as something more than a party.

"YOU’RE INVITED," it reads, before calling on recipients to attend "Grindr’s inaugural White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend Party, a Friday evening gathering to bring together policymakers, journalists, and LGBTQ community leaders as we toast the First Amendment."

The event is scheduled for next Friday, from 8 p.m. to midnight, at a $9 million mansion in D.C.’s swanky Georgetown.

Among those angling for entry: gay staffers on Capitol Hill, communications professionals at advocacy organizations, and journalists well-versed in the city’s tightly choreographed social circuit. In a crowded field of receptions and brand-sponsored gatherings, Grindr’s debut has cut through the noise. Other high-profile events include dueling after dinner parties hosted by NBC News and MS NOW.

There is no word on whether Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent or former Kennedy Center president Ric Grenell, two gay figures in the Trump administration, will attend. In LGBTQ+ circles, it’s often noted that Grindr sees spikes in usage during major Republican gatherings like the Republican National Convention and Conservative Political Action Conference

Grindr’s guest list and the fervor surrounding it reflect the growing influence of LGBTQ+ people across those spaces, even as LGBTQ+ rights remain fiercely contested in legislatures and courts.

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Since returning to office in January 2025, the Trump administration has pursued one of the most sweeping anti-LGBTQ+ agendas in modern American history. The Human Rights Campaign, which has been tracking federal threats to LGBTQ+ equality through its Accountability Tracker, documented a cascade of actions beginning on inauguration day, starting with an executive order that attempts to end legal recognition of transgender and nonbinary people under federal law and reinstate and expand the military ban on transgender service members. The State Department ordered that only U.S. flags be flown at embassies and consulates worldwide, explicitly prohibiting rainbow LGBTQ+ flags.

The administration also rescinded Biden-era executive orders that had directed federal agencies to prevent and combat discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, and dismantled the White House Gender Policy Council. Hours after the anti-transgender order was signed, the administration deleted mentions of LGBTQ+ resources across federal government websites. According to the HRC’s tracker, the administration’s actions have also put HIV prevention and treatment programs at risk, threatening decades of life-saving public health advances.

Representatives for Grindr did not respond to a request for comment on the event’s rapid rise.