--- description: Allison Janney crashes the White House Press Briefing, a day before the White House Correspondents Dinner. title: Watch The West Wing's CJ Cregg Crash the White House Press Briefing image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d38107de393789e/69889141196cf42cdf03b68e/obama_waxm-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch _The West Wing_'s 'CJ Cregg' Crash the White House Press Briefing  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Apr 29, 2016 6:20 PM CUT  Actress Allison Janney, right, joined by White House press secretary Josh Earnest, makes a surprised visit to the the daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, April 29, 2016\. Janney came to the briefing to talk about and bring attention to opioid addiction. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Actress Allison Janney, right, joined by White House press secretary Josh Earnest, makes a surprised visit to the the daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, April 29, 2016\. Janney came to the briefing to talk about and bring attention to opioid addiction. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)Carolyn Kaster—AP  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Apr 29, 2016 6:20 PM CUT Emmy Award-winning actress [Allison Janney](http://time.com/4270221/west-wing-podcast-joshua-malina/ "undefined") reprised her role as C.J. Cregg, the White House Press Secretary on _The West Wing,_ in the press briefing room on Friday. The surprise appearance comes a day before the [White House Correspondents Dinner](http://time.com/4132476/larry-wilmore-nightly-show-white-house-correspondents-dinner/ "undefined"), the annual event in which the commander-in-chief becomes the comedian-in-chief and delivers a speech jam-packed with self-deprecating jokes and digs at friends and foes on both sides of the aisle. While the actress made some inside jokes from _The West Wing_ behind the podium — like explaining that the real press secretary Josh Earnest had to get a [root canal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVKUiqDcGm4 "undefined"), something that happened to her character — she also had a serious message to share. As the star of _Mom,_ the CBS sitcom about a single mom and recovering addict, “I’m here today to draw attention to the [opioid epidemic](http://time.com/4292290/how-obamacare-is-fueling-americas-opioid-epidemic/ "undefined") and to celebrate those who are working to help others combat substance use disorder,” she said, [noting](https://www.whitehouse.gov/champions "undefined") that the White House is honoring 10 men and women in particular for such work. “All of us can help reduce drug abuse through evidence-based treatment, prevention, and recovery.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4312740/allison-janney-cj-cregg-white-house-press-briefing-correspondents-dinner-west-wing/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4312740/allison-janney-cj-cregg-white-house-press-briefing-correspondents-dinner-west-wing/"},"headline":"Watch The West Wing's 'CJ Cregg' Crash the White House Press Briefing","datePublished":"2016-04-29T18:20:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:31:59.650Z","description":"Allison Janney, who played the fictional White House press secretary, surprised reporters","url":"https://time.com/4312740/allison-janney-cj-cregg-white-house-press-briefing-correspondents-dinner-west-wing/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d38107de393789e/69889141196cf42cdf03b68e/obama_waxm-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d38107de393789e/69889141196cf42cdf03b68e/obama_waxm-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Obama_Waxm (1)","caption":"Actress Allison Janney, right, joined by White House press secretary Josh Earnest, makes a surprised visit to the the daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, April 29, 2016. Janney came to the briefing to talk about and bring attent","creditText":"Carolyn Kaster—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4312740/allison-janney-cj-cregg-white-house-press-briefing-correspondents-dinner-west-wing/","name":"Watch The West Wing's 'CJ Cregg' Crash the White House Press Briefing"}}]}] ```