Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston Give Support to Chanel-NRDC Benefit Hosted by Ron Meyer
By Mannie Holmes
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Chanel and the Natural Resources Defense Council joined forces for an exclusive party to celebrate Our Majestic Oceans on Saturday, with a starry guest list of environmentalists lending their support for the nonprofit.
Notable attendees included Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Barbra Streisand, Josh Brolin, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, Mandy Moore, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, Priyanka Chopra, Sofia Boutella, Corey Hawkins, Molly Simms, Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford, in addition to executives such as Disney’s Alan Horn as well as Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and Scott Stuber.
The candle-lit dinner, hosted by NBCUniversal’s Ron Meyer and wife Kelly Meyer at their home in Malibu, raised awareness about the oceans and wildlife being threatened in today’s climate.
“I think it’s a moment in our country,” said org president Rhea Suh. “People want to stand up and actually be involved, so this isn’t just let’s just do this because there’s nothing else to do on a Saturday night. Let’s do this because we need to be engaged, we need to be involved, and there’s, frankly, never been a bigger threat to the environment than what we’re seeing now.”
The benefit also didn’t go without mention of the environmental failures by the Trump administration.
“It’s a great time to be an environmentalist and an American,” Suh said to the crowd of philanthropists, while mentioning Trump’s proposal to open up all of the nation’s coastlines to offshore oil and gas drilling. “I am hopeful because I am part of a formidable organization of lawyers, scientists and advocates who have sued the Trump administration roughly once every 10 days since he’s taken office — and we are undefeated so far.” Suh’s empowering address also saluted women rising up in #MeToo and young activists who have rallied for stricter gun laws.
| Josh Brolin is flanked by wife Kathryn Boyd and Kelly Meyer Chelsea Lauren/WWD/REX/Shutterstock |
The evening offered a befitting view overlooking the Pacific Ocean as guests enjoyed live performances by King Princess, Skip Marley, and Snoop Dogg (who capped off the evening with a DJ set that included his own catalog of hits).
Pierce Brosnan slow-danced with wife Keely Shaye Smith to Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” meanwhile Apatow was seen snapping photos for Ron Meyer and Courteney Cox. Patricia Arquette‘s white loafers came in handy as she danced to a range of hip-hop tracks from Montel Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It” to Bel Biv Devoe’s “Poison.”
As the party began winding down, Roberts was seen leaving the crowd barefoot with shoes in hand and husband Danny Moder in tow, while servers completed the Mexican-inspired vegetarian dinner with raspberry cobbler and vanilla ice cream.
