WSJ. Magazine hosted its annual Innovator Awards on Wednesday evening at MoMA, this year recognizing Hailey Bieber, Billie Eilish, Priscilla Chan, Ben Stiller, Spike Lee, Mellody Hobson, George Lucas and Nadège Vanhée.
The evening kicked off with a cocktail hour held on the museum’s ground floor level. The bar offered “Hailey’s reservatini,” which featured jalapeno-infused Jean-Marc XO vodka and a jalapeno-stuffed olive, in honor of the beauty category honoree. Bieber stuck close to friend and Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello, who was on hand to present her with her award, throughout the night.
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Eilish, dressed in Miu Miu, posed for photos with her mom, as well as with friends Gabby Karaefa-Johnson and Cosmopolitan and Seventeen editor Willa Bennett. Aurora James caught up with Paloma Elsesser, who wore a white Brandon Maxwell dress, and Karen Elson, who presented Hermès womenswear designer Vanhée with the fashion innovator award, posed with her daughter, Scarlett White.
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Mark Zuckerberg, supporting his wife Priscilla Chan as she was recognized with the philanthropy in science award, stepped into the cocktail hour with his hands in his pockets, allowing a very brief moment with photographers. When asked to pose for a group shot with his wife and guests later, he brushed off the request.
Other guests included Chris Rock, Rosie Perez, Brittany Snow, Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Lila Moss, Questlove, Bethann Hardison, Chloe Flower, Christopher John Rogers, Ella Emhoff, Emily Adams Bode Aujla, Henry Zankov, Imaan Hammam, Karlie Kloss, Pierce Abernathy, Rachel Scott, Todd Snyder and Tory Burch.
Upstairs, before dinner got underway, Bieber and Eilish tried to have as natural a conversation as one can while several photographers captured the moment. Bieber was seated next to Vaccarello, but spent most of the night over at Eilish’s table, chatting with the musician.
“To me, an innovator is someone who can bring a fresh perspective to a crowded space, someone who can merge different worlds together and create something new and unexpected,” Bieber said when accepting her award. “Someone who isn’t afraid to go left when everyone else is saying to go right, and I believe that this is what we’ve done and we’ll continue to do at Rhode, which is to tell a unique story and expand beyond beauty.”
“It’s no surprise to me that Billie is getting this award tonight because if there are three words that I think of when I think of Billie Eilish, it’s music, it’s talent and it’s innovation,” said Stephen Colbert when introducing Eilish. “And if there are three more words I think of when I think of Billie Eilish, it is Wall, Street and Journal,” he teased, to much laughter.
Colbert also announced that Eilish would be donating $11.5 million from her “Hit Me Hard and Soft” tour to organizations “dedicated to food equity, climate justice, reducing carbon pollution and combating the climate crisis.”
When Eilish took the stage, she encouraged those in the room wealthier than she to give their money away — with a pointed remark at billionaires, as Zuckerberg sat and listened. His wife, Chan, was the recipient following Eilish.
“I would just say we’re in a time right now where the world is really, really bad and really dark, and people need empathy and hope more than ever, especially in our country. And I’d say if you have money, it would be great to use it for good things and give it to some people that need it,” she said. “Love you all, but there are people in here that have a lot more money than me. And if you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but yeah, give your money away, shorties.”