'Ted Lasso' visits White House to talk about the importance of mental health: 'Take care of each other'

Fictional soccer coach Ted Lasso and President Joe Biden are teaming up to educate people on the importance of mental health and encourage friends, family, and co-workers to check up on one another. According to CNN, President Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden hosted actor Jason Sudeikis and other casts of “Ted Lasso” at the White House on Monday for a conversation on mental health. The attendees included Hannah Waddingham, Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Toheeb Jimoh, Cristo Fernandez, Kola Bokinni, Billy Harris, and James Lance. Sudeikis, who plays the character of an American coaching a soccer team in London, talked about how mental health contributes to overall well-being.

"No matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter who you voted for, we all probably know someone who has struggled, who has felt isolated, who has felt anxious, who has felt alone," Sudeikis said from the press secretary’s podium. "It’s one of the many things, believe it or not, that we all have in common as human beings." Sudeikis and President Biden are making sure Americans know about the options available to help with mental health and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says that this is a bedrock of Biden’s "unity agenda." "I know in this town, a lot of folks don’t always agree, right? And don’t always feel heard or seen as listened to," Sudeikis said. "But I truly believe that we should all do our best to help take care of each other."

Mental health is part of Biden’s bipartisan “unity agenda,” which calls on lawmakers to provide resources to fight mental health struggles and the administration is funding to start a new 988 suicide and crisis line and put more mental health professionals in schools. Sudeikis said there should not be any stigma attached to reaching out for help because everyone knows someone who has needed a shoulder to lean on or has been that person themselves. The president tweeted a photo of a yellow poster with the word "BELIEVE" above a door leading to the Oval Office. The sign is similar to that one affixed above Lasso’s office door in the AFC Richmond locker room on the television show.

The Emmy Award-winning show, now streaming its third season on AppleTV+, has incorporated mental health struggles into its storyline through the character played by Jason Sudeikis, a coach seeking therapy after suffering panic attacks. "While it’s easier said than done, we also have to know that we shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help ourselves," Sudeikis said, as reported by the Associated Press. He continued, "That does take a lot, especially when it’s something that has such a negative stigma attached to it, such as mental health, and it doesn’t need to be that way. And if you can ask for that help from a professional, fantastic." Also, he said, "If it needs to be a loved one, it's equally good in a lot of ways."

Sudeikis also proposed a special appeal to people in the nation’s capital. "I know in this town a lot of folks don’t always agree, are right, and don’t always feel heard, seen, or listened to," Sudeikis said. "But I truly believe we should all do our best to take care of each other. That’s my own belief. I think that’s something that everyone up here on stage believes in." The Bidens have seen a bit of "Ted lasso" and said they are familiar with its message about spreading kindness and hope.

In 2022, as part of the "unity agenda," Biden addressed the State of the Union address and urged the country to "take on mental health." "Let’s do more on mental health, especially for our children," Biden also said in this year’s State of the Union address. "When millions of young people are struggling with bullying, violence, and trauma, we owe them greater access to mental health care in their schools."