Tiffany Haddish Puts Beyonce Drama Behind Her at City of Hope Gala Honoring Jon Platt: ‘We Cool’
By James Patrick Herman
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) –
Beyonce
and Tiffany Haddish have moved on from the headlines that the “Girls Trip” star stirred up when she revealed earlier this year that she saw an unnamed actress bite the singer at a private party.
Variety caught up with Haddish on Thursday night at the City of Hope gala in Los Angeles, where performed in honor of
Jon Platt, the chairman and CEO of Warner/Chappell Music Publishing and soon-to-be chief of Sony/ATV.
“We’re not BFFs — we haven’t braided each other’s hair or anything, but we cool,” Haddish said.
Platt was honored for his
philanthropic efforts for cancer and diabetes causes.
Destiny’s Child member was certainly excited to catch up with Beyonce, but she only wanted to talk about Platt on this occasion. “My goodness. You see Big Jon all the time and you always see him with artists and writers — it’s because everybody has such love and respect for him,” Rowland told Variety. “He’s a great, powerful black man in music and I’m just so proud to be here to support him tonight.”
The event
also drew longtime admirers such as Quincy Jones, Usher, and Jermaine Dupri, who called Platt “the biggest boss of them all right now.” The two have known each other for decades, as it turns out. “Another one of my friends who worked at EMI [Music] Publishing, Steve Prudhomme, actually introduced me to Jon,” Dupri said. “And from there, we’ve been really, really good friends — not talking about business, just doing things, eating, having a good time playing video games, and just being best friends for over 20 years.”
Despite all the accolades, Platt lived up to his humble reputation. “The fact that I’m being honored is actually the small part of the story — the big part of the story is that we’re able to touch so many lives because of tonight,” he told Variety. “My son has type 1 diabetes, there’s a personal connection. But the technology and the research has come a long way from where it was years ago, and it’s going to be even better as we move forward. That personally will affect my son’s life, so I’m quite happy about that,” he added.
But Platt did not exactly downplay his close friendship Beyonce; she didn’t have to think about the offer for long when he called and asked her to perform this evening. “She said: ‘I’d be honored.’ It was fast,” Platt said. Meanwhile, Beyonce’s husband, Jay-Z, hailed Platt as “the Obama of the music industry.”
Before Beyonce performed a four-song set that included “Ava Maria” and “Halo,” she paid a special tribute to Platt. “Most people in this industry lead with their ego, but you lead with your heart, touch so many lives, mine included,” she said, summing up the vibe in the room. “I’d like to say congratulations on this beautiful night. We all love you so deeply.”
