Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro Mannequin Challenge as Medal of Freedom Honorees at the White House

The latest trend on the Internet just captured the imagination of the White House. The Medal of Freedom honorees posted a funny mannequin challenge while at the White House. The mastermind of the challenge was Tracee Ellis Ross the star of "Black-ish" who was there as a guest of his mom, Diana Ross, another Medal of Freedom honoree.

EW reports that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is presented to individuals who have contributed greatly to contributions to security and national interest of the United States or to cultural endeavors. It is the highest award a civilian can receive in the United States.

Billboard reports that other Medal of Freedom honorees included singer and musician Bruce Springsteen, actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita, TV host Ellen DeGeneres, actors Robert de Niro and Robert Redford, billionaire philanthropist Bill and Melinda Gates, announcer Vin Scully, and basketball greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan. There were 21 people honored at the event.

The Mannequin Challenge is a short video of people in various poses simulating a normal activity. While the video is being recorded, the people would be stationary, and the only thing moving would be the camera. It is basically a 360 video of a tableau. Michele Obama has done the Challenge with the Cleveland Cavaliers which also happened while the NBA Champions visited the White House. There have been lots of videos of the challenge uploaded on Twitter, Vine, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media sites.

Prior to the event, Ellen DeGeneres posted a picture on Twitter where she says she was barred admission to the White House because she left her ID. She admits it was her fault. She was later ushered in to the White House after the issue was ironed out. It would have been embarrassing if one of the recipients of the award was left outside the gate watching the event on her phone.