Variety, the entertainment industry bible, joined the Lifetime channel to salute some of the most influential women in America at a high-powered lunch held at Cipriani Midtown. Megyn Kelly, Julianne Moore, Lupita Nyong’o, Vera Wang, and Mariska Hargitay were designated this year’s Lifetime Impact Honorees,” an award given to prominent personalities for their philanthropic work.
In accepting her award Julianne Moore, an advocate for preventing gun violence, spoke of her belief that gun control wasn’t a partisan issue, but rather “a safety issue.” Misty Copland, a tireless advocate for diversity in the dance world, chronicled her hard-fought journey to ballet stardom, traveling, as she described, “from living in a motel to dancing on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House.” Megan Kelly discussed her dealings with The Donald, among other things, and shared one mantra that no doubt has contributed to her mega success, “Fear is normal. The goal is not to get rid of it, the goal is to walk through it.
The lunch, hosted by Billy Eichner; drew prominent media and show biz personalities like Jay Penske (Chairman and CEO of Penske Media), Michelle Sobrino-Stearns (Publisher, Variety), Claudia Eller (Co-Editor-in-Chief, Variety); Anna Wintour (presenting to Vera Wang); ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie (presenting to Misty Copeland); Danai Gurira (presenting to Lupita Nyong’o), Bill Hemmer (presenting to Megyn Kelly), Neve Campbell, Alyssa Milano, Rhea Seehorn, Ellen Burstyn, Ann Curry, Andrea Martin, Sutton Foster, Michelle Collins, Hoda Kotb, Kathie Lee Gifford, and Margaret Hoover.
American Airlines was the event’s main sponsor, with additional support from Baileys (their cocktails helped warm up the crowd) and Karma Automotive.
