A Night Full Of Surprises at The Golden Heart Awards

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Fundraiser or surprise party? Last night’s 17th annual Golden Heart Awards at Glasshouse in New York pulled out all the stops to surprise guests and honorees as they raised money for the incredible God’s Love We Deliver organization.

After a cocktail hour presented in partnership with Indochine, the night kicked off with remarks from Michael Kors, who has been a longtime supporter of the non-profit. The designer touted the remarkable work of the charity, which provides medically tailored meals and nutrition services for individuals living with severe illness—this year alone, God’s Love We Deliver will deliver 3.9 million meals to 13,000 New Yorkers in need.

Michael Kors and Scarlett Johansson  (Patrick McMullan)

J. Harrison Ghee  (Patrick McMullan)

Kors introduced Tony winner and Some Like It Hot star J. Harrison to the stage, who performed There’s New York City (And There’s the Rest of the World) and Freeway of Love for a crowd that included Julianna Margulies, Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka, Beanie Feldstein, Patina Miller, Sai de Silva, Tina Leung, Nicky Hilton, Nicole Ari Parker, Grace Elizabeth, Dorinda Medley, Alex Newell, Jessica Wang, Tyrod Taylor, and event co-chairs Huma Abedin, Blaine, Jordan Roth, and John Idol.

The evening’s first surprise guest was Cynthia Erivo, who presented the Golden Heart Award for Excellence in the Arts to her friend and fellow Tony winner, Ben Platt. Other surprises of the night included Rupert Friend presenting the Golden Heart Award for Philanthropy & Activism to Scarlett Johansson. The actor quipped on stage that he was probably the only person in the room who could claim to have co-starred in a movie with Johansson. Surprise! Matt Damon piped up from the back of the room, shouting that that wasn’t true and proceeded to join Friend on stage to honor his We Bought a Zoo co-star. Johansson, who donated $50,000 to God’s Love We Deliver at the event, talked about how her own family depended on food stamps when she was growing up in New York City.  She also recognized the incredible people working tirelessly behind the scenes, stating: “I want to take a moment to recognize the incredible volunteers who make all of this possible. These selfless people are the backbone of this organization dedicating their time and talent and compassion to help those in need.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was music legend David Foster coming on stage for his very first Golden Heart Award appearance to “bring something” to the party. Foster introduced Mary J. Blige, who wore a Michael Kors coat and performed Real Love.

The evening, which was once again produced and directed by Erich Bergen, raised more than $3.5 million, which will help fund a whopping 350,000 meals! A Love affair!

To learn more check out glwd.org

All photos by Patrick McMullan and Sean Zanni for Getty

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