Dakota Johnson's mother, other celebrities back Kaitlan Collins after Daily Show appearance

Zoe Saldana and Dakota Johnson’s mom were prominent among the thousands of people who showed support for Kaitlan Collins when the CNN journalist appeared on The Daily Show after being insulted by US President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

During her appearance on the comedy show, Jon Stewart asked some hilarious questions about the president and Collins’ interactions at the White House, prompting smiles and sometimes an ear-to-ear grin from a reporter whom the president complained never smiles.

Answering a question regarding the repeated humiliation at the hands of the president, Kaitlan Collins said, “It’s really not about me, and I don’t want it to be about my reaction... In those moments it’s important to put the focus back on the work, on the question, and on the non-answers that we get.”

And when The Daily Show’s Instagram account shared her clip on Monday, hundreds of people expressed solidarity with her in the comments section.

Notably, Hollywood star Zoe Saldana and Melanie Griffith, Dakota’s mom, were among the thousands of people who liked her response on Instagram.

Earlier, when the reporter shared her photos from the event on her private Instagram, Gracie Abrams and Chelsea Handler voiced support for her in the comments section.

“You’re a legend,” wrote Gracie Abrams. Comedian Chelsea Handler wrote, “National Treasure. You are!!!”

The 2026 White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) Dinner was held at the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC on Friday.

"I want to personally congratulate CNN's Kaitlan Collins on receiving her award," Trump, 80, told attendees.

Collins won the WHCA's Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure in the broadcast category.

The POTUS continued, "It was all about me. It's a fake. She shouldn't get the award. It was a fake, but I didn't mind. I said, Kaitlan, congratulations. But it was fake. There's no question about it."

That's when Trump pivoted to criticizing Collins for not smiling, an insult he publicly hurled at her in February, after calling her "stupid and nasty" in December.