It’s the star-studded tradition that keeps on giving. The Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 32nd annual Academy Awards Viewing Party raised $10.8 million to fight HIV, a record-breaking high for the event.
A special evening fueled by purpose Thank you for everyone’s support of #EJAFOscars. Together, we raised a...
Posted by Elton John AIDS Foundation on Monday, March 11, 2024
Elton John and husband David Furnish’s Oscar party was cohosted this year by Tiffany Haddish, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka. The evening featured an auction of fabulous collectibles (including a fully bedazzled piano!), a performance of “Are You Ready for Love” by R&B soul-pop trio Gabriels and the Rocket Man himself, according to a press release from the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF).
Since 1992, the Academy Awards Viewing Party has raised over $110 million for efforts to fight HIV, AIDS and stigma across the globe, including in the U.S. South.
“So far, this has been an extraordinary year beyond my wildest dreams, including the honor of achieving the EGOT, but it’s tonight’s gathering that is the ultimate highlight,” John said in the press statement, referring to taking home his first Emmy Award in January, when his concert film Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium won for Outstanding Variety Special. According to Smithsonian, John is now the 19th person in history to earn an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony (EGOT).
Regarding his latest Academy Awards party, John added: “I’m so grateful to everyone who comes out each year to have a lot of fun and do a whole lot of good together. We’ve been loud and proud about showing compassion and ending the dreadful stigma that follows HIV, and we won’t stop until we achieve our mission.”
From left: Kyle Richards, Avril Lavigne and Kesha attend the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s Academy Awards Viewing Party.Courtesy of Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation
The evening’s live auction, according to the press statement “featured a Yamaha piano fully bedazzled in crystals by Nyenyezi signed by Elton John, which went for over $360,000 after he joined auctioneer Lydia Fenet onstage and played an impromptu rendition of ‘Tiny Dancer.’ Two pinball machines adorned with graphics representing the global superstar’s career including a rocket ship figurine and his legendary Dodgers sequin jumpsuit by Jersey Jack Pinball sold for $200,000 each. A pair of Chopard earrings from the luxury brand Maison’s ‘High Jewellery’ collection featuring 24 carats of brilliant-cut diamonds was sold for $500,000, and so, inspired by the high-energy auction, the brand was compelled to donate another pair totaling $1,000,000. Additional high-selling lots included a Rolex watch from Elton John’s personal collection engraved to commemorate the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, an exclusive meet-and-greet with Elton John and David Furnish at the highly anticipated photography exhibition Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Boreas Blaze from the Auric Fields painting series from internationally renowned light and space artist Lita Albuquerque, exquisite pieces from Elton John’s personal closet, including two Gucci bomber Jackets, an early shoe illustration from legendary artist Andy Warhol and a blueprint drawing by AIDS activist Keith Haring.”
Among the celebrity revelers in attendance were Danny DeVito, Rhea Pearlman, Donatella Versace, Alicia Silverstone, Billy Eichner, Sharon Stone, Cara Jade Myers, Christian Siriano, Brandi Carlile, Benson Boone, Tim Allen, Dylan Arnold, Olivia Holt, LOONY, Heidi Klum, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Ashlyn Harris, Patricia Arquette, Orville Peck, Sophia Bush, Julianne Hough, Zoe Lister-Jones, Daphne Guinness, Zooey Deschanel, Lucien Laviscount, Charlotte Tilbury, MUNA, Melanie Lynskey, Elizabeth Hurley, Joseph Lee, Alexis Bledel, Toni Braxton, Colton Haynes, Eric McCormack, Olivia Welch, Bailee Madison, Hunter Doohan, Avril Lavigne, HotWax, Valerie Bertinelli, Ian Bohen and Smokey Robinson.
To read more about EJAF’s efforts to fight HIV, click #Elton John AIDS Foundation, where you’ll find stories about the organization funding community pharmacies in the United States, promoting the prevention message Undetectable Equals Untransmittable and supercharging the fight for a national PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxis] program to prevent HIV. For a more personal look at the iconic rocker, see “Elton John on Who Inspired him to Get Sober and Fight AIDS [VIDEO].”
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