Obama takes a dig at pal George Clooney during fundraiser

New York, May 12 (ANI): Barack Obama cracked several George Clooney jokes at the star-studded fundraiser, which raised 15 million dollars for the president's re-election, held at the actor's home in Los Angeles.

During the event, Obama explained the story behind his iconic "Hope" poster, which artist Shepard Fairey based on an image of the president sitting beside Clooney, the New York Post reported.

"This is the first time that George Clooney has ever been Photoshopped out of a picture," TMZ.com quoted Obama as saying.

"Never happened before, never happened again," he said.

Obama also took a moment to say some sincere words about his pal, too.

"He seems to occupy a constant state of grace, and uses his extraordinary talents on behalf of something truly important," Obama said of Clooney.

As he thanked the attendees-including Robert Downey Jr., Barbra Streisand, Salma Hayek and Tobey Maguire-for their generous contributions.

"We raised a lot of money because people love George. They like me; they love George," he added. (ANI)