Charity Cases
One protester shouted, “Die, socialite, die!” according to a well-heeled attendee. Protesters shake up one benefit; Jimmy Fallon falls flat at another.
Partygoers at this fall’s Museum of the City of New York benefit were in for quite a shock at the event’s entrance. Posted outside the upper Fifth Avenue mansion were 25 protesters from a group called Adalah-NY denouncing the alleged human rights abuses and support of West Bank settlement construction by Israeli Lev Leviev, the founder of cosponsor Leviev diamond company.
“Die, socialite, die,” one man shouted, according to a well-heeled attendee. (A spokesman for the group said this was not one of its approved chants, which included, “Fashionistas and socialites, Leviev denies human rights.”)
“It was very scary,” said Jamee Gregory. “It certainly adds some color,” opined another guest about the otherwise tranquil affair, which was also sponsored by J. Mendel and drew Marjorie Gubelmann, Lisa Airan and Jennifer Creel.
The week before, the New Yorkers for Children gala at Cipriani 42nd Street attracted other kinds of performances, each greeted with varying degrees of warmth. MC Jimmy Fallon decided he was doomed from the start. “This crowd is not made for comedy,” he fretted before singing a ditty called “You Spit When You Talk” to a bemused Julianne Moore, Kim Raver, Jamie Tisch, Julie Macklowe and Blake Lively.
But rapper Lupe Fiasco’s surprise appearance got Amanda Brooks and Muffie Potter Aston dancing in their seats and waving glow sticks. Then Patti LaBelle announced, “I’m gonna sing no matter what happens with the economy,” and launched into “When You Wish Upon a Star.”
Guests appreciated the sentiment. “I give a lot of money to charity,” said one wry fellow at the bar. “And yesterday I gave to a charity called Lehman Brothers.”
More Society
