LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Actors George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and musicians Usher and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs joined in Hollywood celebrations Wednesday for Democrat Barack Obama's White House triumph.

"I congratulate president-elect Obama on his historic victory, and now it's time to begin unifying the country so we can take on the extraordinary challenges that this generation faces," said Clooney, who supported Obama since the start of his campaign.

Actors Courteney Cox and David Arquette hosted a celebrity party late Tuesday to celebrate Obama's triumph that included "Friends" TV show co-star Jennifer Aniston, British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher.

"This will go down in history, in black history, for all of the sacrifices that the great Joseph Lowery and Martin Luther King made. This actually pays off for their sacrifice ... I'm speechless. I don't even know what to say," said singer-song writer Usher.

Less grandiose but equally emotional, US rap mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs said: "I felt like my vote was the vote that put him into office ... And that may not be true but that's how much power it felt like I had."

"Finally, the curtain has come down on what was arguably the most astonishing and unpredictable piece of political theater in US history," said a Hollywood Reporter editorial.

"Neither a Frank Capra, nor a Garry Trudeau, nor an Aaron Sorkin could have come up with plot points so implausible and make them stick," the magazine said.

"Yet the real-life drama -- and occasional comedy -- of the real-life race for the White House not only took a leaf or two from the Hollywood playbook, it handily upstaged Hollywood," it added.

Source: AFP