--- title: Allison Janney Appears as CJ Cregg at White House Briefing description: Allison Janney crashes the White House Press Briefing, a day before the White House Correspondents Dinner. canonical: https://time.com/4312740/allison-janney-cj-cregg-white-house-press-briefing-correspondents-dinner-west-wing/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-29T18:20:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:31:59.650Z og:title: Watch The West Wing's CJ Cregg Crash the White House Press Briefing og:description: Allison Janney, who played the fictional press secretary, surprised reporters og:url: https://time.com/4312740/allison-janney-cj-cregg-white-house-press-briefing-correspondents-dinner-west-wing/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d38107de393789e/69889141196cf42cdf03b68e/obama_waxm-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4161 og:image:height: 2341 og:image:alt: Obama_Waxm (1) og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch The West Wing's CJ Cregg Crash the White House Press Briefing twitter:description: Allison Janney, who played the fictional press secretary, surprised reporters twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d38107de393789e/69889141196cf42cdf03b68e/obama_waxm-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch _The West Wing_'s 'CJ Cregg' Crash the White House Press Briefing > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ecd6c9ad-e701-4b45-9324-7bb480b6c0f9&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 29, 2016 6:20 PM UTC  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](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 29, 2016 6:20 PM UTC Emmy Award-winning actress [Allison Janney](http://time.com/4270221/west-wing-podcast-joshua-malina/) 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/), 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), 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/) and to celebrate those who are working to help others combat substance use disorder,” she said, [noting](https://www.whitehouse.gov/champions) 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. 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