The About Last Night... actress was on her way to a star-studded gala at a private penthouse in Manhattan last Thursday (01Mar12) when the elevator she was travelling in got stuck, leaving her trapped for half an hour with one of the president's secret service agents.

She was eventually freed and made it to the party in time to hear the talk by the president, who was brought up to the event in a freight elevator due to the technical problems.

Party guest Margaret Russell, of Architectural Digest, tells New York Post gossip column Page Six, ""It is a beautiful pre-war building, and it shouldn't have happened that night. She was trapped, but thankfully they were eventually able to free her... I think the Secret Service were... happy (that the president didn't get stuck).""

Other guests at the party included singer John Legend, actress Mariska Hargitay, movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and fashion designer Michael Kors.