My Oscars Week In LA, 2015

Whew! 2015’s Academy Awards was full of beauty, controversy, and shut-outs. But man, I had a ball 😉

So here we go! I kicked it off attending unite4:good’s and Variety Magazine’s 2nd Annual Unite4:Humanity Awards Gala a few days before the Oscars. We celebrated the work of some of the most philanthropic minded artists in Hollywood, as well as extraordinary everyday citizens that are truly making a difference in their communities.

Unite4:Humanity’s honorees and presenters included Ewan McGregor, Demi Lovato, Forest Whitaker, Jeff Bridges, Zendaya, Halle Berry, Queen Latifah, Lauren & Aaron Paul, and Amy Poehler, among many others. And can’t forget my girl P!nk, who was both honored by Jeff Bridges and gave an incredible performance. But I think my highlight was getting a chance to meet up with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who KILLS me on “Modern Family”! Jesse presented Josh Hutcherson with the Young Humanitarian Award for his work with Straight But Not Narrow, an LGBT ally organization for straight youth and young adults. You can check out Variety’s complete wrap-up HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I helped raise funds for Unite4:Humanity’s inaugural event last year, and I was honored this year to give my support to its founder, Anthony Melikhov. I met Anthony over  2 years ago when unite4:good was only a vision. I’m so incredibly proud to see what he’s accomplished in the pursuit of global good. And I’m immensely grateful for his help in launching my Project:NOW initiative with Clinton Global Initiative. He supported our first fundraiser in NY with President George W. Bush. Check out unite4:good to find out more about his work.

To see photos from Unite4:Humanity, check out the gallery below.

Also, check out the gallery from our Legacy Project Dinner with President Bush, sponsored by unite4:good last year during The Clinton Global Initiative. You can get more details by checking out my last post HERE, and visiting our website HERE.

Next up, m’lady Ion Overman and I swung through Debbie Durkin’s EcoLuxe Lounge at the Beverly Hilton with Aniesia Williams from PopWrapped.com.

Although I hung outside schmoozing with some folks I met up with, Ion spent time inside with the VIPs that were treated to a styling bar, organic spray tans, along with makeup touchups by OC Hair & Makeup, glamping vacations to Glacier Park, Yellowstone, and The Moab Desert from Under Canvas, and a Repurpose Compostable champagne and coffee bar.

They also received a Choices Recovery beauty gift bag, Nutrition Chef Alex Fioroni mini-meal bars, celebrity items from CanaDog Supply #dogpower, handcrafted creations from BluBond, KD Pet Protector charms, mixes by DJ Dime, and a Café Press gift bag filled with O.P.I., Loree Rodkin fragrance, Go Go Squeez, Modern Oats Gluten and GMO-free oatmeal, a HAI MP3 flatiron and John Paul Pet shampoo & conditioner.

Yeah… it was pretty hippie-glammed out, and Ion was in heaven (and by the way, be sure to hop on over and check out Ion’s blog at We Live Love. Fantastic stuff!).

The night before the Oscars, I attended online magazine Hello Beautiful’s launch of HB Studios.  Good times, and beautiful people. I’m a huge fan of what they’re doing, and looking forward to working with them in the future to promote women’s empowerment through media. Their brand messaging is completely in line with the reason I’m Executive Producing the upcoming film “Flyy Girl” with Lionsgate/Codeblack. I hope to do my part in redefining what it means for a young woman to be ‘flyy’ in the modern age… intelligent, independent, graceful, and philanthropic. Please follow #FlyyGirl on Facebook at FlyyGirlOnline, and twitter at @FlyyGirlOnline. Also, follow Flyy Girl Etiquette on Facebook, because those ladies over there are doing it, just… so damn right.

Moving along – On the day of the Academy Awards, I joined Aniesia at The W Hollywood’s Viewing Party, presented by OK TV, Neutrogena, and My Habit. The setting was right, the food by Bonefish Grill was delicious, and the crowd was a blast.

And now, how about a little Oscars recap:

Congrats to Alejandro Inarritu for his Best Director and Best Picture wins for “Birdman.” Seriously, one of the best films I’ve ever seen. And Michael Keaton was literally as good as it gets. But as importantly, it was incredible to see a Latino win the statue two years in a row. Kudos, my man!

HUGE congrats and gratitude to Common and John Legend for giving us “Glory” from the “Selma” soundtrack!

And here’s their moving performance from the Oscars.

Lastly, I cannot express to you how much I believe Eddie Redmayne deserved that Oscar win for “The Theory Of Everything.” My man went to work on that role with a commitment most of us can’t even fathom. As an actor myself, it felt so good to see him rewarded. Plus, I’m fanatical about Stephen Hawking, so… Eddie’s win is pretty damn cool to me. Congrats!

Now all of that was fun, but a couple of Oscar moments really moved me, and I had to post about them. One, was when Oscar winner Patricia Arquette gave an impassioned speech on gender equality. Another actually began before the Oscars on the red carpet, and still hasn’t let up – Zendaya’s response to comments made about her hair. These women exemplify grace, beauty, and intelligence. I’m a huge fan of both of them.

And of course, I have to support my girl Zendaya, so here’s a little flashback of when I rocked the locks.

After the Oscars, Aniesia and I swung by The 1st Annual Millennia Scope Gala to show our support for my buddies, Quincy Lenear Gossfield and Dondre Gossfield, who if you don’t remember them, got married live on the Grammys last year. So proud to see them honored alongside the great Jeffrey Tambor (Emmy winner for “Transparent”), for their work in the LGBTQ entertainment community. I also had a chance to see my friend Wil Bowen, who is on the Leadership Council of #GLAAD. And by the way, GLAAD was a sponsor. www.GLAAD.org

Then, I hit the red carpet at the American Black Film Institute gala to celebrate Common and John Legend’s Oscar win for Glory. Talked a little about my films entering production soon, as well as my non-profit work with Clinton Global Initiative‘s new CGI LEAD Program. ABFI is an incredible organization dedicated to preserving the history, enhancing the art, and promoting the vision of the Black cinematic experience. Check them out HERE:

My Oscar Week was topped off the day after the Academy Awards, when we attended the TVOne “Interludes” concert series’ taping of Ne Yo’s performance. Hosted by Hello Beautiful and HB Studios, and sponsored by Toyota and McDonald’s, we had a ball rockin’ with Ne Yo. Be sure to mark your calendars for March 28th, the premier of the show on TVOne.

Well, that’s my Oscars week! Special thanks to Aniesia from PopWrapped for taking care of me this week. And now, back to the grind 😉