Seth Meyers, Tina Fey, Colin Jost, Scarlett Johansson and More Attend American Museum of Natural History’s Annual Gala
Live from New York…it’s Thursday night at the American Museum of Natural History’s annual gala!
After a star-studded red carpet, attendees such as Kenan Thompson, Colin Jost, Seth Meyers, Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels, Scarlet Johansson, Emma Stone and more filed into the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life to sit down for a three-course dinner and live auction.
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Meyers, who was the host for the evening, greeted guests underneath the museum’s iconic 94-foot long and 21,000-pound blue whale structure poised majestically in midair. In his opening remarks, he pointed out the absence of Mayor Eric Adams, notable since both Mike Bloomberg and Bill DeBlasio were known to attend during their respective tenures as Mayor.
“He’s everywhere, but not here,” he joked.
“I have a prediction. I think Mayor Adams is going to be our fourth straight New York mayor who decides to run for president, calling it now,” he continued. “I love that a New York mayor thinks that other people in this country come here to visit and when they leave they think, ‘You know who should be in charge here? They can’t handle trash pickup but I’d love to see what they do with the U.S. military.'”
However, New York Congressman Chuck Schumer was in attendance and took the stage to share his appreciation for the museum and their fundraising efforts. He also took the opportunity to poke fun at the “Saturday Night Live” henchman in the audience, such as Fey and Michaels. “Very few people get to be the butt of the joke on both ‘SNL’ and ’30 Rock.’ Very few people can say that,” he quipped.
Sara Friedlander of Christie’s then took the stage to lead the night’s live auction, with all proceeds helping support the museum’s educational and scientific programming. Prizes included an invitation to bring 20 friends or family members to have a pizza party with museum president Sean Decatur, which ended up going for $40,000.
The next prize was four tickets to “SNL,” including an invitation to the after-party, and a ticket to “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” including a meet-and-greet and guitar signed by Mumford and Sons. It went to the highest bidder for $50,000.
“I grew up as a big ‘SNL’ fan so being at an event where the ‘SNL’ cast is sitting in the front row is amazing,” the museum president Decatur tells Variety. “I’m giving remarks and seeing the ‘SNL’ cast from the stage, it’s pretty intimidating but I’ll take it.”
After the auction concluded, guests were treated to a private performance by Mumford and Sons, during which they performed hits such as “Little Lion Man” and an acoustic cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire.”
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