Scarlett Johansson and Ben Platt Honored at the Golden Heart Awards
The annual event, which benefits God's Love We Deliver, featured a surprise performance by Mary J. Blige and drew Matt Damon, Beanie Feldstein, Neil Patrick Harris and more.
The annual Golden Heart Awards,
benefiting God's Love We Deliver, returned to New York's Glasshouse on Monday evening for a heartfelt night of fundraising, theater and surprise celebrity appearances.
Now in its 17th year, the 2023 Golden Heart Awards raised more than $3.5 million for the organization, which provides medically tailored meals to New Yorkers in need, and handed out awards to Scarlett Johansson and Ben Platt for their philanthropic efforts.
Guests made their way up to the sixth floor of the event venue, located on 12th Avenue, and were greeted with a glowing neon “Indochine” sign, as the downtown fashion crowd favorite had taken charge of the cocktail hour menu for the night. Tucked in a side room was a step and repeat, where Nicky Hilton Rothschild and Tina Leung giggled post-photo ops as the photographers lingered for more shots of Johansson. Across the floor, in another private space, most of the celebrities congregated with Michael Kors, who has a longstanding partnership with the charity (and is responsible for the glamour and celebrity power of the night).
“Whenever I think that they have reached their max, that they can't do more, somehow they step up to the plate and they manage to do more,” the designer said during cocktails of GLWD.
Sitting nearby him was Johansson, who Kors said he's known since she was a teenager.
“The two of us are born and bred New Yorkers, and I have always been such an admirer of the fact that not only is her talent so immense, but she's really so involved with the city that she grew up in, the city that she lives in,” he said. “She's constantly giving back — and she's quiet about it.”
As for Platt, Kors has been a fan since he first saw the actor on Broadway in “Dear Evan Hansen.”
“I'm a theater freak, I am the theater geek of all times, and [Ben's] heart and his soul, you see it on the stage and then when you talk to him in person, it's that times 10.”
The evening's program included a performance by Tony winner J. Harrison Ghee, of “Some Like It Hot,” a live auction, as well as speeches from Johansson and Platt, who were introduced by Rupert Friend and Cynthia Erivo, respectively. Friend's introduction of Johansson was interrupted by a surprise guest, none other than Matt Damon.
“Scarlett is incredible. She's an amazing artist and amazing to work with, but as great as she is at work, tonight we are here to honor her for her philanthropy,” Damon told the room, before taking a jab at Johansson's husband, “SNL” cast member Colin Jost, who was not in attendance.
“In 2020, knowing their wedding might grab a few headlines, Scarlett and her husband,” — followed by an intentional mispronunciation of Jost's name, before settling on “Mr. Scarlett” — “chose to announce the festivities through the Meals on Wheels of America Instagram page and this drove donations and awareness during a time when the organization and the people who rely on it needed it most,” Damon said.
Both Platt and Johansson gave speeches thanking the organization and Kors for the recognition.
“As a child living in New York, my family was dependent on food stamps, hot lunch programs and government aid to support our household and four children,” Johansson said in her speech. “And as someone who's experienced food insecurity firsthand, I understand the devastating impact it can have. The struggle to put food on the table can lead to immense hardship and despair and a loss of hope. But organizations like God's Love We Deliver offer a lifeline to those in need.”
As a final treat of the night, David Foster took the stage to introduce Mary J. Blige for a surprise performance, which had everyone from Julianna Margulies to Neil Patrick Harris on their feet.