Oscar Parties 2022: Inside the A-List Events

The red carpet has been rolled out across Los Angeles in advance of the 94th annual Academy Awards, bringing with it dozens of celebrations across the city to toast the year’s biggest achievements in film. Heading into March, there was more than a fair amount of apprehension and anxiety from event producers and party planners about how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic would impact celebrations this year, amped up by a new variant and following last year’s muted social calendar. But, major party players like Vanity Fair, Elton John, MPTF, Chanel and even Oscar nominee Beyoncé and Jay-Z are back (via extra layers of precautions like PCR tests, vaccine checks and masks) with can’t-miss bashes this year in the days leading up to Sunday’s telecast. Below are some insider highlights from 2022 soirees, with new events added every day through Monday.

Governors Ball 

The Oscars’ official afterparty, held just upstairs from the Dolby Theatre, welcomed big winners including Troy Kotsur, Sian Heder and the CODA team, Ariana DeBose, Jessica Chastain and Jane Campion, all of whom had their trophies engraved and posed for photos with their new hardware. Kenneth Branagh, Billie Eilish, Finneas, Questlove, Riz Ahmed, Steven Speilberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Lupita Nyong’o, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tracee Ellis Ross, Queen Latifah, Ava DuVernay and Simu Liu all made pit stops at the celebration before departing Hollywood Boulevard for the rest of the night’s parties.

Vanity Fair Oscar Party

“Will Smith is here,” texted a source after midnight from inside the Vanity Fair Oscar party, answering a burning question that had been on the minds of many: Will Mr. Smith make an appearance on the party circuit after shocking the world by slapping Chris Rock on the Dolby stage for a jab at wife Jada Pinkett-Smith?

The answer turned out to be a resounding yes as the freshly-minted best actor Oscar winner — who released a full-throated apology Monday afternoon (“I was out of line and I was wrong) — not only turned up, he turned out. Smith took over VF’s Bacardi Rum-fueled dancefloor at 12:15 a.m. and offered an impromptu performance from the middle of an epic dance circle that formed as DJ D-Nice spun three of Smith’s biggest hits.

The 53-year-old rapped along as “Gettin’ Jiggy With It,” “Miami” and “Summertime” blared through the speakers while his wife, their children and stars like Lupita Nyong’o, Lashana Lynch and Thuso Mbedu danced around him. D-Nice even paused the music at one point to give Smith a shout-out, encouraging everyone to throw hands in the air. “When I started Club Quarantine, Will Smith sent me water, he sent everything. We celebrate each other,” said the superstar DJ, referring to his pandemic phenomenon series that he started on Instagram. (He pulled double duty, also DJing Guy Oseary’s party where, coincidentally, Chris Rock closed out the night). “We are really excited for you, Will, I love you.”

As for Smith, he was unfazed by the controversy, telling THR, “It’s been a beautiful night.” Beautiful … and chaotic. Such is Oscar night in Los Angeles where there’s no shortage of conversation topics after the big show but due to slap-gate, it carried on with a heaping dose of drama.

Many bold-faced names copped to needing more time to process what they had witnessed. Host Wanda Sykes declined to comment while Bill Maher said he was still thinking about how to respond. “I will tell you this,” he said, “it was good for the Oscars. For a show that got only 10 million viewers last year, this will likely turn that around.”

Tiffany Haddish — who starred with Pinkett Smith in 2017’s Girls Trip (produced, like the Oscars, by Will Packer) — said that if you know the targets of your punchline, “you should run that joke by them first,” adding that she supported Smith’s defense of his wife. “If I had a husband,” she said, “I would want them to do the same for me.” One high-profile industry reveler preferred to remain anonymous but offered this of the “grotesque” display: “I was deeply troubled by what I saw. There’s no excuse for it.”

There’s no excuse not to have a good time, suggested others as hordes of stars and industry insiders kicked back and looked to be having a great time inside the custom-designed, open air space that connects the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts with Beverly Hills City Hall. Though Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s Gold Party remained a buzzworthy late-night destination, there’s still no replacing the spread at Vanity Fair, a sea of cover-worthy stars.

Kim Kardashian stayed in stride with sister Kendall Jenner and model Hailey Bieber. Andrew Garfield munched on In-N-Out while Larry David did the same over his shoulder. Jason Momoa greeted Donald Glover first, and then Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher (before she dashed to the restroom, pleading with her husband to help her unzip her dress to use the loo). VF’s Britt Hennemuth escorted Timothee Chalamet to a particularly hot corner of the party where Kate Hudson squealed and hugged the Dune star.

Netflix film chief stopped his Dune director Denis Villeneuve to congratulate him on the six Oscar wins Katie Holmes saw Marlon Wayans rush by and excitedly asked, “Where are you going?” to which he replied “We are doing an all-Black picture” in Mark Seliger’s exclusive photo booth (inviting others with a punchline, “Come if you want to get slapped”) Questlove gave “big ups” to Euphoria star Angus Cloud and exclaimed, “We literally watched all of Euphoria” while clutching his new gold accessory.

Cloud’s Euphoria castmate responded to Britney Spears’ latest Instagram post professing her love of the HBO hit by saying, “Britney is an iconic performer, mother and person. I love her caption and the fact that she found positivity in it — and it’s crazy to think she saw me in latex. It’s Britney fucking Spears!” A shirtless Simu Liu hadn’t quite “shaken off the feeling” of presenting at the big show, words he got out before nearly tripping over Jenner’s dress. Red Rocket star Simon Rex was toasting the end of his stellar run for Sean Baker’s indie by calling it a “nonstop rollercoaster of magic,” and he’s going to continue to ride by being picky with his projects and choosing quality filmmakers over quick cash.

Kirsten Dunst chose a seat as she announced that her feet hurt just before spotting Rodarte pals Kate and Laura Mulleavy, a sighting that put a spring in her step. Minutes later, THR spotted her sitting comfortably at a high top six minutes before 2 a.m. “I’m still drinking this,” she said as a waiter attempted to clear the table. There’s no last call on Oscar night.

Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party

It seemed everyone had something to say about the 2022 Academy Awards’ most shocking moment: Oscar winner Will Smith hit Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke on the stage referring to Jada Pinkett-Smith as “G.I. Jane 2.”

But in the moment, at least at the annual Elton John AIDS Foundation viewing party in West Hollywood Park, the crowd — including the likes of Lady Gaga and Andrew Rannells — looked confused. “Was that a stage slap?” one music tour manager asked at a table.

“No slap,” Billy Porter joked of the moment, as he hosted Elton John’s event benefiting the foundation alongside Will & Grace star Eric McCormack and John’s husband David Furnish, the Canadian filmmaker. John couldn’t attend his annual event due to his tour schedule and COVID-19, though his family, including two young sons, were in tow. 

“I’m missing him a lot,” Furnish told The Hollywood Reporter of his husband on the red carpet before the show, which also touted the launch of Elton John Eyewear in collaboration with Walmart this year, benefiting the foundation.  

There was a somber tone hovering over the normally celebratory night, and not just because Will Smith got heated. Furnish acknowledged the pain of the war in Ukraine that’s still raging. He and John’s foundation have been working in the country “for 20 years. It has the highest HIV rate in Europe. People need to continue to get access to medicine,” he said of the concerns over access to HIV/AIDS treatment there at the moment. The foundation is actively working with pharmaceutical company Gilead to funnel resources into Ukraine, he added.

On a lighter note, Furnish didn’t hesitate to say who both he and Elton John were rooting for in the Oscars. John has previously won best original song Lion King’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from 2020’s biopic Rocketman about his life and career. But the legend is apparently ready to pass the torch.

“We had a chance to have dinner with Billie Eilish and [brother and producer] Finneas before lockdown,” Furnish said of Eilish, the Grammy-winning artist behind the latest James Bond theme song “No Time to Die,” which would in fact go on to win the night’s Oscar. “They’re all great songs, but that would be our choice.”

“Of course, I would love to be anywhere Elton is at all times, but I’m secretly fucking relieved,” music artist Brandi Carlile said of the elder rock ‘n’ roller’s absence at his own event, as she prepared to take the stage for a live set. “I would be so terrified. I’ve never actually performed in front of him with my band.”

“The first thing I learned about Elton John was his passion and activism for people with HIV and AIDS and the stigma attached to it,” Carlile added of how John had inspired her.

Patricia Arquette also strode the red carpet alongside sister Rosanna. The two actresses gave a heartfelt tribute to their late sister Alexis, who died in 2016 due to complications from HIV. “She was brilliant. She was an artist,” Oscar winner Patricia Arquette said of Alexis, while still noting that the blunt Pulp Fiction performer would likely have words about her outfit choice for the evening.

“Too much boob,” Patricia imagined her sibling saying of her dress.

It was a bit of levity before the surprise of the night came. As the Academy Awards got underway, attention naturally turned to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock for his joke. Rock wasn’t the only one shocked. Even Porter, standing on the Elton John AIDS Foundation stage, looked shaken. — Paul Schrodt

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Viewing Party 

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures hosted its first ever Oscars Night at the Museum, a sold-out event of over 1,000 attendees on Sunday. With a live telecast of the show in the David Geffen Theater, the stream featured comedy performances from Chris and Vanessa Spencer, Tom Lenk, D’Lo and Jesus Trejo during commercial breaks. The museum’s exhibitions were open to all attendees — including the popular Hayao Miyazaki exhibit. If you weren’t invited, tickets to the general public ran at $100 a piece, along with a discounted price of $75 for Academy Museum members. Following the screening, the night continued on with a black-tie afterparty event. — Sydney Odman

Netflix

The streamer hosted an intimate party to celebrate its Oscar showings and toast best director winner Jane Campion for her work on The Power of the Dog. Ted Sarandos made the rounds and, as seen in the below photos, even took Campion for a spin on the dancefloor. Campion was joined by her team on the film including nominees Benedict Cumberbatch, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ari Wegner and more. Also on the scene: Jennifer Garner, Harvey Keitel, Iain Canning, David Sirota, Nicholas Britell, Paolo Sorrentino and Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard.

Mercedes-Benz Oscar Viewing Party

Jon Hamm, Kenya Barris, Quinta Brunson, Kendrick Sampson, Sarunas Jackson Derek Hough, Tayshia Adams, Luka Sabbat, Chrishell Stause and  Metta World Peace were among the attendees at Mercedes-Benz’s annual Oscar event, held at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. Along with a live viewing of the show, guests also experienced a first look at the Concept EQG, a near-production preview of an all-electric model variant of the classic G-Class.

Chanel and Charles Finch’s 13th Annual Pre-Oscars Dinner

Sofia Coppola summed it up best, offering a shortlist of reasons why receiving an invitation from the iconic French fashion house and party vet Charles Finch is an immediate RSVP. “You get to see people like Joan Collins, all these legendary Hollywood people, friends I haven’t seen in a while, like Rashida Jones, and it’s fun to get dressed up [in Chanel] and be at the Polo Lounge,” she told The Hollywood Reporter after arriving at the Beverly Hills Hotel for the Saturday night event.

Amid a hectic Oscar weekend events calendar, the soiree set a scene that felt like a serene luxury escape. A-list guests, auteurs and industry insiders arrived on Crescent Drive and were escorted through the hotel’s palm tree-soaked outdoor corridors to arrive at the rear entrance to the Polo Lounge, after passing by a luxe red carpet backdrop featuring shiny greenery. “It’s a little overwhelming to be back out,” Coppola added, saying that she’s not really hit a red carpet in two years. “That was right before the world closed when I was here last.”

Overwhelming could also describe Chanel’s guest list, in a good way, as it featured nominees, Oscar winners and fashion and film insiders. Spencer nominee Kristen Stewart arrived with fiancé Dylan Meyer (in a rare red carpet outing), Taika Waititi had photographers laughing while posing next to girlfriend Rita Ora, Caitriona Balfe joked that she wanted to heckle Belfast buddy Jamie Dornan, and nominee Jessie Buckley made the rounds.

The party was packed with auteurs including nominees Jane Campion and Denis Villeneuve, legend Francis Ford Coppola, Stewart’s Spencer comrade Pablo Larrain, Ava DuVernay, David O. Russell, Simon Kinberg, Paolo Sorrentino, Reinaldo Marcus Green and others. Guests included Sienna Miller, Adrien Brody, Brie Larson, Camila Morrone, Daisy Edgar Jones, Giveon, Gerard Butler, Henry Golding, Jonathan Majors, Kate Beckinsale, Lily James, Jennifer Meyer, Oswald Boatang, Richard Curtis, Ted Hope, Tanya Seghatchian, Tanya Lapointe, Mike and Irena Medavoy, and Sony Pictures Classics chiefs Tom Bernard and Michael Barker, among many others.

Giorgio Armani Oscars Celebration 

On Saturday, Armani Group reopened its newly designed Giorgio Armani boutique on Rodeo Drive, and marked the occasion with a private cocktail party hosted by Roberta Armani in celebration of longtime friend and muse of the house, Nicole Kidman, on her Being the Ricardos best actress nomination. Guests at the exclusive event included Sophia Loren, Sebastian Stan, Rege-Jean Page, Tiffany Haddish, Adrien Brody, Alan Kim, Alexandra Daddario, Colman Domingo, Justin Hartley, Lana Condor, Miles Teller and Simon Rex.

MPTF’s “Night Before” Fundraiser

The Power of the Dog nominees and real-life couple Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons mingled with real-life pals who play the parents in CODA, Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur. Best actor nominee Andrew Garfield chatted with best supporting actress nominee Ariana DeBose while Judi Dench held court and received congratulations left and right for her work in Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast. Those are just a few of the memorable scenes from inside the MPTF’s star-studded “Night Before” party, held Saturday evening on the Fox Studios lot. The annual fundraiser is always a coveted invite on a busy Oscar weekend and this year was no exception, especially considering this year’s installment marked a return to in-person after 2021’s online gathering due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It proved to be a hit as the 20th installment raised $4.5 million. Making the Fox rounds were Riz Ahmed, Patricia Arquette, Lake Bell, Orlando Bloom, Zach Braff, Adrien Brody, Serena and Venus Williams, Ana De Armas, Zooey Deschanel, Kaitlyn Dever, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Billy Eichner, Jacob Elordi, Cynthia Erivo, James Franco, Henry Golding, Max Greenfield, Tiffany Haddish, Jon Hamm, Daniel Dae Kim, Nick Kroll, Jane Levy, Simu Liu, Lashana Lynch, Trevor Noah, Himesh Patel, Liam Payne, Billy Porter, Sebastian Stan, Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade, Lena Waithe, The Weeknd, and many more.

Summer of Soul x Onyx Collective Celebratory Brunch

Disney’s Onyx Collective, its content brand focusing on creators of color and underrepresented voices, feted the achievements of its very first project, Questlove’s Summer of Soul doc, with a celebratory brunch in Los Angeles on Saturday. Questlove was joined at the gathering by Disney execs Bob Chapek, Peter Rice, Dana Walden, Tara Duncan and Kareem Daniel, along with fellow Onyx Collective and Disney creators Colman Domingo, Natasha Rothwell, Quinta Brunson and Larry Wilmore.

Saint Laurent

Oscar weekend got dosed with an extra layer of chic thanks to the luxury fashion house which posted up at a private residence in Los Feliz with a stunning view to match the occasion. An invite-only dinner celebrating awards season’s stellar directors preceded a late evening bash that featured a performance by rising rockers Wet Leg. Making the rounds at Saint Laurent’s first-ever pre-Oscar party were nominees Denis Villeneuve, Pedro Almodóvar, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Joachim Trier with guests Zendaya, Zoë Kravitz, Hailey Bieber, Al Pacino, Dominic Fike, Maude Apatow, Jessie Buckley, Justice Smith, Bill Murray, Troye Sivan, Dave Franco, King Princess, G-Eazy, Iann Dior, Lil Huddy, Travis Bennett, Kid Laroi, Fin Argus, Lykke Li, Adwoa Aboah, Sam Evans, Christian Coppola, Earl Cave and Devon Ross, among others.

Women in Film Oscar party

H.E.R. and producer Cathy Shulman, both Oscar winners in their own right, hosted Women in Film’s 15th annual Oscar party on Friday at Thompson Hollywood’s Bar Lis, where the organization honored this year’s 60 female Academy Award nominees. Nominated attendees included Jane Campion, accompanied by her Power of the Dog producers and cinematographer Ari Wegner; CODA writer-director Siân Heder, Diane Warren and producers Kristie Macosko Krieger (West Side Story), Sara Murphy ( Licorice Pizza) and Tamar Thomas (Belfast).

After guests mingled on the Hollywood rooftop, they were called to gather around the party stage where each nominee was brought up and spoke briefly about their project and recognition, before taking a “class photo” of all the female nominees. Warren, a 13-time nominee, joked “I feel like I’ve been here before” as Rita Moreno joined nominated West Side Story set decorator Rena DeAngelo for a speech that brought down the house, while she was admittedly a half-glass of wine deep.

Wearing a pin that said “bans off our bodies,” Moreno referenced her character in the film, saying, “This is the kind of Valentina you have in this movie.” She then shifted to a more serious tone, shouting out her fellow Latinas and saying “We have a big fight coming, we really do. We are dead seriously represented and as long as I’m around I’m gonna fuck ’em,” as the crowd brought into cheers of “Rita! Rita!” “I am so angry, you never think that someone who is this old and has got one foot in the grave probably — I am so angry, we really have to get together and we better organize, we have got to make this happen before I go, goddammit!”

CODA‘s Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durrant and Amy Forsyth also made appearances, along with Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Lashana Lynch, Lake Bell and Saniyya Sidney. The party was sponsored by Max Mara, Charlotte Tilbury Beauty and Heineken with additional support from IMDbPro and Tequila Don Julio.

CAA party

The agency hosted a private star-studded bash on Friday night at the San Vicente Bungalows, toasting its nominated clients and welcoming VIPs including Andrew Garfield, Ariana DeBose, Viola Davis, J.J. Abrams, Ron Howard, Ava DuVernay, Sacha Baron Cohen, Donald Glover, Zoë Kravitz, Chris Pine, Billy Porter, Tiffany Haddish, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sterling K. Brown, Simu Liu, Kate Hudson, Miles Teller, Regé-Jean Page, Henry Golding, Jeymes Samuel, Damson Idris, David Oyelowo, Danny DeVito and Elon Musk. 

W’s Best Performances Party

Oh, how times have changed. W Magazine used to take over the penthouse at West Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont every year for a pre-Golden Globes soiree that hosted stars of its glossy “Best Performances” spread along with talent, auteurs and industry insiders. But the COVID-19 pandemic and a Chateau boycott led party planners to mix up the format by moving festivities to Gigi’s in Hollywood on the Thursday before the Academy Awards.

Even still, some things stayed the same as the vibe remained ultra-exclusive with throngs of people trying to get in while revelers who did make the cut were greeted at the end of a long, disco-themed corridor by hosts Nicolas Ghesquiere of Louis Vuitton and Sara Moonves and Lynn Hirschberg of W. The “Best Performances” themed issue shined a spotlight on 35 actors for head-turning showings and some of those featured turned up to make the rounds, including Alana Haim, Emilia Jones, Saniyaa Sidney, Renate Reinsve, Andrew Garfield, Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Jonah Hill, Simon Rex and Suzanna Son.

Also there (decked out in Louis Vuitton) were Ava DuVernay, Chloe Cherry, Chloe Grace Moretz, Cody Fern, Danielle Haim, Doona Bae, Emma Chamberlain, Kate Hudson, Laura Love, Lous and The Yakouza, Maria Bakalova, Marlee Matlin, Samara Weaving, Thuso Mbedu and Troye Sivan. New couple Austin Butler and Kaia Gerber turned heads as did Paul Thomas Anderson and Maya Rudolph, Tiffany Haddish, Chris Pine, a chain-smoking Cole Sprouse, Colman Domingo and Zoe Kravitz, among others.

But there was one guest who was a magnet all night, drawing attention from all corners, granting selfie requests, shaking hands and even bobbing his head on the dance floor — Quentin Tarantino. The popular auteur told THR that he just flew in from Israel to be here on Oscar week in order to attend the Governors Awards to support longtime friend and Honorary Oscar winner Samuel L. Jackson. But party insiders found a way to support Tarantino who turns 59 on Sunday — they surprised him with a giant birthday cake and serenade before he made his exit out the front door where hounds of autograph seekers were waiting.

MACRO Pre-Oscar Party

The Oscars are often referred to as the Super Bowl of Hollywood so, in that sense, it was more than fitting that MACRO mounted its 4th annual pre-awards fete at the exact spot where Super Bowl LVI was played a little more than a month ago. And like the home team Los Angeles Rams, Charles and Stacey Walker King’s bash was a real winner, drawing hordes of industry insiders to party inside Inglewood’s new(ish) $5 billion crown jewel. They brought superstar DJ D-Nice along to orchestrate the vibes and he spun for such guests as Ava DuVernay, Lena Waithe, Chloe Bailey, King Richard stars Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton, Kelly Rowland, Kendrick Sampson, Matthew Cherry, Pose star Michaela Jae Rodriguez, Abbott Elementary breakout Quinta Brunson, TriStar chief Nicole Brown, Keith Powers and others. “Tonight was such an amazing night that exceeded my wildest dreams,” chief brand officer Walker King said of their event, which featured presenting sponsor Chase Sapphire and partners Sirius XM, Deleon and Nestle. “I looked around and all I saw was love, community and everyone celebrating each other. It felt like a MACRO family reunion! This was for and about our beautiful community.”

Oscar Wilde Awards

After his turn in Belfast, Jamie Dornan said he finally thought himself deserving of an Oscar Wilde Award. When he attended the event in 2008 for the first time, “I saw some unbelievably worthy work when they used to show a [highlight] reel, and I thought, ‘One day.’” The honoree feigned disappointment Thursday because “they didn’t do a fucking reel,” which meant the Fifty Shades of Grey star would have to act out his entire career for the audience. “I’ll start with something you’re familiar with,” he said, and pulled out a set of shiny silver handcuffs.

Belfast writer, director and producer Kenneth Branagh, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, accepted his award in a prerecorded speech, while his wife, Lindsay Brunnock, and other family members did attend.

Mary Steenburgen, who said “What the fucking fuck!” at Adam McKay’s request in the 2008 comedy Step Brothers — she said three or four times a week she gets that line repeated back to her and “wouldn’t have it any other way” — presented the filmmaker with his trophy. McKay said he has a home outside Dublin and will be head back there next month to write his next script.

Others in attendance included J.J. Abrams, who hosted; director Richard Curtis, who introduced Dornan; King Richard helmer Reinaldo Marcus Green, who introduced the “Wilde Card” honoree, actor Dónall Ó Héalai; directors Terry George and Rick Famuyiwa; actors Elisabeth Shue and Sarah Bolger; Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy; TCM host Ben Mankiewicz; Michael Burns of Lionsgate; Richard Lovett of CAA; Brett Paul of Warner Bros. Television; and Daria Cercek and Mike Ireland of Paramount. — Mike Barnes

Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards 

Essence‘s annual event, held Thursday at the Beverly Wilshire, honored Aunjanue Ellis, Quinta Brunson, Chanté Adams, and Nia Long in front of a star-studded crowd that included Will Smith, Serena Williams, Lena Waithe, MJ Rodriguez, Robin Thede, Donald Glover and past honoree Lashanna Lynch.

“So much about darkness is derided: it’s horrific, we’re trained to fear it, we’re trained to think that it’s ugly, it’s used as the basis for colorism, for racism,” Ellis said during her semon-like speech. “But there is this thing that’s called ‘dark matter’ and it makes up 80 percent of the entire universe. It’s called dark matter because people can’t see it but they know that it exists because, without it, the behavior of the stars, the planets, and the galaxies would make no sense.”

The metaphors continued as Ellis described her career, saying: “Much of my 27-year professional life has been in the dark…this moment of shine, of luminosity, is going to pass…but I will continue to work in the dark anyway,” as she received a standing ovation from guests like included additional guests Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Niecy Nash, Natasha Rothwell, stylist Law Roach, Tank, Tristan Wilds, costume designer Ruth E. Carter, Warner Bros. TV Group chairman Channing Dungey, Universal Studio Group chairman Pearlena Igbokwe, lawyer Nina Shaw and director Gina Prince-Bythewood. — Evan Nicole Brown

Vanity Fair And Lancôme’s The Future Of Hollywood Party

In anticipation of the notable VF post-Oscars afterparty to come, Vanity Fair and Lancôme teamed up to celebrate the future of Hollywood at celebrity hotspot Mother Wolf on Thursday evening. Co-hosted by Amanda Seyfried and VF editor-in-chief Radhika Jones, the event played host to a starry lineup of guests including Kate Beckinsale, Jenna Dewan, Law Roach, Angelica Ross, Quinta Brunson, Amy Forsyth, Kathryn Newton, Nat Wolff, Quincy Isaiah, Jack Quaid, Kaitlyn Dever, Dylan O’Brien, Mayim Bialik, Chris Sullivan, Alanna Ubach, Chloe Fineman, Ashley Benson, Nathalie Emmanuel, Rudy Pankow, Caleb McLaughlin, Rumer Willis, Winne Harlow and Taylor Hill. — Sydney Odman

Net-A-Porter and LaQuan Smith dinner

The fashion designer teamed up with Net-A-Porter for a Thursday night dinner at Olivetta to celebrate his spring/summer ’22 collection. Guests included Tiffany Haddish, Ava DuVernay, January Jones, Julia Fox, Winnie Harlow, Olivia Culpo and stylist Law Roach. 

The Latinx House Pre-Oscars Celebration 

On Thursday, The Latinx House hosted its debut pre-Oscars celebration at West Hollywood’s Issima, in honor of this year’s Latinx nominees with the theme of power, culture and truth. Attendees included Wilmer Valderrama, Constance Marie, Gloria Calderón Kellett, Mishel Prada, the cast and crew members of Bestia, Encanto, Please Hold and West Side Story. 

Taste the Future event

Liam Payne, Paul Wesley, Algee Smith and Evan Ross were among those who took part in Thursday’s Taste the Future event at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills, with a luncheon featuring innovative, animal-free foods.

Pre-Oscars South Asian Excellence Event 

On Wednesday, hosts Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Mindy Kaling, Kumail Nanjiani, Anjula Acharia, Bela Bajaria, Maneesh K. Goyal, and Shruti Ganguly feted this year’s South Asian Oscar nominees with a celebration at UTA, raising a glass to Riz Ahmed (Flee, The Long Goodbye), Joseph Patel (Summer of Soul), Suroosh Alvi (Flee) Pawo Choyning Dorji (Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom), Aneil Karia (The Long Goodbye), Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei (Three Songs for Benazir), Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh and Anurima Bhargava (Writing with Fire). Attendees also included Aziz Ansari, Lily Singh and Kal Penn, with sponsors UTA, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, Johnnie Walker, The South Asian Arts Resiliency Fund of The India Center and The Juggernaut.

Vanities Party: A Night for Young Hollywood

Co-hosted by Alana Haim, Giveon and Ariana DeBose on Tuesday night (though the Oscar-nominated West Side Story star did not make an appearance as she was busy filming Kraven in London), Vanity Fair and Bacardi Rum celebrated young Hollywood at old Hollywood’s iconic hotspot Musso & Frank. As Haim partied alongside her sister and bandmate Danielle Haim, fellow guests included Hunter Schaffer, Kaitlyn Dever, Joey King, Chloe Fineman, Diplo, Gavin Leatherwood, Charlie Puth, Chase Stokes and Insecure‘s Kendrick Sampson and Sarunas J. Jackson. 

EMILY’s List’s The Collective Power of Women Event

The organization, a national resource for women in politics, returned to the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills for its 5th annual pre-awards breakfast. The program delivered an inspired morning thanks to two conversations that went down at center stage, both focused on successes achieved when women in politics and entertainment work together and lift each other up to create a better environment for all women. The first featured EMILY’s List Creative Council member Amber Tamblyn chatting up WNBA star, ESPN host and activist Chiney Ogwumike.

Laphonza Butler, EMILY’s List first Black president, then welcomed board of directors member Yvette Nicole Brown to the stage to serve as moderator for a panel discussion that featured showrunner Gloria Calderón Kellett, Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, newly-named Hall of Fame marketing executive Bozoma Saint John, multi-hyphenate Robin Thede, and Congresswoman and L.A. mayoral candidate Karen Bass. “Women have fought for me, so who would I be to not fight for them?” asked A Black Lady Sketch Show creator Thede (whose mother is a member of Iowa’s House of Representatives). “My life is full of women who support everything I do…we have to be willing to accept it as much as we give it.”

It’s needed now more than ever, suggested Bass. “The reality is that we went through those horrible four years with that crazy man [Donald Trump], and one lesson that we should learn from that, is even though we’ve won certain battles, you can never assume that just because you won the right to vote, that you’re always going to have the right to vote,” she explained. “We can’t make the assumption that [because] we won the right to choose how to guide our own bodies, that right is always going to be there, which is why we’re in the fight for our lives over the right to control our bodies right now.”