Elton John and husband David Furnish are once again taking over West Hollywood Park.
A giant white tent has been erected between San Vicente Boulevard and Robertson Boulevard for the return of the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards viewing party on Sunday. This year’s festival, in its 34th year, is co-hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, David Burtka, and will feature a performance by recent Grammy Award winner Laura Young.
The guest list includes Dua Lipa, Donatella Versace, recent Variety cover star Keike Palmer, Quinta Branson, Rivals star Robbie GK, Jon Batiste, Nicki Glazer, Adam Lambert, Melanie Lynskey, Jason Ritter, Orville Pack, Charlie Puth, Sharon Stone and Michaela Jay Rodriguez.
“We hope to raise over $9 million,” Furnish told me. “Last year was a very difficult year after the Los Angeles fires. There were a lot of calls for much-needed charity work in Southern California in the wake of the fires. But ticket sales this year have been extremely strong. We had a great auction and had Neil and David join us as co-hosts. We’re asking people to be generous.”
John has faced some health issues in recent years, but that doesn’t mean he’s slowing down. “He’s been great. He keeps fighting. He keeps busy and he keeps moving forward,” Furnish said. “He’s happy being at home as a family with our sons. That’s why he left the road. We love raising children, we love our family, we love being together. That’s everything to us.”
I reached Furnish by phone a few days before the party.
Have you ever imagined what kind of party you would throw if a cure for HIV/AIDS was discovered?
yes. Scientifically and medically, it feels like we’re always getting closer, especially when you look at things like long-acting injectable PrEP. However, there are now vulnerable people who cannot receive support. There are 150,000 people living with HIV in the United States who don’t know it. HIV is the world’s easiest disease to treat. When someone is given antiretroviral drugs right away, their viral load drops to an undetectable level and they can no longer spread it to others. That would relieve all the strain on our heavily burdened health care system. There are still 9 million people around the world who do not have access to treatment. Although we are excited and optimistic about science, we must not take our eyes off the task at hand.
What are the Foundation’s top priorities today?
We now live in a world of philanthropy where people want more empirical evidence of results. Money is tight and times are tough. Government has reached its limits. But we have a long history of starting small projects, innovative projects, new ways of solving problems, and proving that investing in those results pays off in the long run. This allows us to attract a larger pool of capital and focus on innovation. For example, we are funding Zipline in Kenya, a program that uses drones to deliver HIV tests and medicines to rural areas of Africa without access to health systems. We celebrated winning $150 million from the U.S. Department of State to expand our drone delivery network because it has proven that it works and is a cost-effective investment.
But how scary can it be when the government is making cuts? In Florida, 16,000 people just lost their insurance for HIV treatment. The state has also stopped offering Biktarvy, one of the main treatments for people infected with HIV.
I think everyone should have access to these drugs, but the problem and challenge with HIV drugs is that you can’t stop or start them. When people find themselves in a situation where their access to medicines is limited or their access to medicines is reduced, some may take a day off. They may try to ration the pills or share them with others. And what we end up with is a drug-resistant strain of HIV, which really sets us back. The drug works well, but must be taken daily. People who don’t have support to get insurance or medicine are of great concern to us.
The party will include its signature live auction. Which item are you most excited to see people bid on?
There’s an Irish painter named Jack Coulter. I gave Elton one of his paintings. He has an uncanny ability to listen to music and perceive color in an Abstract Expressionist way. He painted a painting called “A Candle in the Wind,” which he drew while listening to Elton’s “A Candle in the Wind.” So now we’ve done something with Jack that he’s never done before. They had Jack come to the gallery, set up their paints and equipment, brought in Elton’s piano, and while Jack painted, Elton played “Tiny Dancer” live. We have beautiful paintings that are truly unique.
