President Barack Obama over the weekend hosted musicians Stevie Wonder and Prince for a private party at the White House, an event that was not recorded on Obama's public schedule and on Monday led to some uncomfortable questions for Press Secretary Josh Earnest, CNN reported.

"The President and First Lady did hold a private party at the White House over the weekend," the spokesman confirmed. "But given the private nature of that event, I don't have a lot of details to discuss from here."

The show was attended by around 500 people, but no guest list was made available to the public, the Hill detailed. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, singer Ciara and pundit Al Sharpton are known to have been invited; Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein and American Express CEO Ken Chenault were also rumored to have been among the guests.

According to Page Six, Prince performed hits including "Kiss" and "Purple Rain," while the Obamas at one point joined Wonder on stage.

"The President and the First Lady are going to reserve the right to host private parties at the White House, and they did it on their own dime," Earnest told reporters during Monday's daily briefing. Hosting the event was an "appropriate thing" to do and "not part of the responsibilities of the president and First Lady," the spokesman insisted.

Wall Street Journal White House correspondent Carol Lee inquired as to why exactly Obama had decided to designate the party as "private," the Washington Post noted. "How is that in line with the president's commitment to transparency?" Lee asked.

"The fact that we're talking about a private event and the fact that details of this are known is an indication that the president is committed to being transparent," Earnest countered

The Washington Post, however, commented that such revelations may, in fact, be more of "a testament to the irresistibility of Twitter and the status-enhancing effect of advertising to the world that you were chosen to attend a 'private' event at the White House."