Clooney, Sandler Premiere Jay Kelly; Red Carpet Groping

At the AFI Fest premiere of Noah Baumbach’s Netflix film Jay Kelly in Los Angeles on Oct. 23, George Clooney and Adam Sandler walked the red carpet — joined by Riley Keough — in a playful moment in which Clooney grabbed Sandler’s backside, footage of which was captured by multiple outlets. The film, directed by Baumbach and co‑written with Emily Mortimer, stars Clooney as A‑list Jay Kelly, Sandler as his manager Ron Sukenick, and features Riley Keough and Laura Dern in key roles; it previously won the Composer Award at the Montclair Film Festival. Clooney pushed back against critics who say he “only plays himself,” defending his range, and both actors spoke warmly about one another in interviews. Off the red carpet, the pair made a surprise appearance at the InStyle Imagemaker Awards to present Dern with the Woman of Impact prize, where Sandler jokingly called Clooney his 'emotional support dog.' Sandler said he would welcome a Grown Ups 3 but that plans remain uncertain, and Jay Kelly is set for a limited theatrical release on Nov. 14 followed by streaming on Netflix beginning Dec. 5.