The Academy Museum gala, which was set to welcome an A-list roster of talent this Saturday, has been postponed following Hamas‘ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel that left over 1,000 people dead.
“Out of respect for the devastating conflict and loss of life happening overseas, we have made the decision to postpone the Academy Museum gala this Saturday. We look forward to rescheduling at a later date. We thank everybody deeply for their support,” a statement from an Academy Museum spokesperson said Thursday night.
The news followed an announcement earlier in the day that the red carpet portion of the event was going to be canceled, but at the time, the gala itself was still on. A statement sent to the press Thursday afternoon said, “The Academy Museum condemns all forms of hate and cruelty and stands in support of innocent Israeli and Palestinian lives affected by the ongoing violence. Out of respect for the devastating conflict and loss of life happening overseas, the Academy Museum has made the decision to cancel the red carpet at its annual fundraising gala on Saturday, Oct. 14.”
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The third annual event is honoring Meryl Streep, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Sofia Coppola and is co-chaired by Ava DuVernay, Dr. Eric Esrailian, Halle Berry and Ryan Murphy. The red carpet was already scheduled to happen in limited capacity, restricted to photos only and no interviews amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. It was also reported that studio executives, who have attended the gala in previous years, would not attend this year amid the work stoppage and have donated their seats back to the museum.
It’s the first major Hollywood event to be canceled following the attack on Israel over the weekend by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Dozens of top stars were expected to attend, including Andrew Garfield, Angela Bassett, Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Greta Gerwig, Ke Huy Quan, Kerry Washington, Kim Kardashian, Lupita Nyong’o, Mahershala Ali, Margot Robbie, Mark Ruffalo, Pedro Pascal, Quinta Brunson, Reese Witherspoon, Selena Gomez and Tom Hanks.
The Academy Museum Gala is the museum’s marquee annual fundraiser, which raises vital funds to support museum exhibitions, education initiatives and public programming, including screenings, K-12 programs and access initiatives in service of the general public. The four awards presented at this year’s gala reflect the museum’s continued mission to advance the understanding, celebration and preservation of film, and to contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema. The evening is presented by Rolex.
This story was first published on Oct. 12 at 3:05 p.m.
