Dr. Fauci and Glenn Close Were Awarded at AmfAR’s “A Gala For Our Time” 

It was in a live stream from Kim Kardashian West’s bathroom that the world was first introduced to amfAR’s fund to fight COVID-19 last May. As we all sat sequestered in our homes at the height of the pandemic, so too did the bold-faced names that usually fill the pricey dinner tables at amfAR’s circuit of globe-trotting galas. With the ability to often raise millions in mere minutes to fuel the fight against HIV/AIDs, the foundation set its sights on COVID-19, with last weekend’s virtually-produced evening, A Gala for Our Time, serving as another star-powered step toward eradicating the deadly virus. 

“Isn’t it nice to go to a gala without leaving the couch?” Heidi Klum, wearing a pair of sneakers and the top half of a ruffled emerald evening gown, quipped to viewers as she hosted alongside Billy Porter. With this in mind, the celebration felt akin to a friendly, 30-minute virtual cocktail hour, the sort we were all were known to enjoy at the onset of the pandemic.  

Fresh from her Golden Globes triumph was Catherine O’Hara, from the shoulders up, along with her Schitt's Creek co-star Emily Hampshire and fellow on-screen legends Morgan Freeman and Nathan Lane. Interspersed with stripped-down performances by Kelly Clarkson, Rita Ora, and Ava Max were moving awards presentations to the evening's honorees: Glenn Close and Dr. Anthony Fauci. 

Introduced by Bette Midler, Close broadcast from her home in Montana. “To be receiving the Award for Courage alongside Dr. Anthony Fauci is the most humbling experience of my life,” she told viewers. “He is the man whose courage has given us hope, whose courage was unwavering, and his moral gravitas is something that has fed us as a nation."

It was, indeed, Dr. Fauci—seated at the desk of his home office, decorated with bobbleheads and a Washington National’s jersey—who stole the show following an introduction from Julia Roberts. “We’re in a very unusual situation historically, where we are battling simultaneously two extraordinary pandemics that are going on at the same time,” he told us of the fights against both COVID-19 and HIV-AIDs. “We have our challenges ahead of us, and I promise you that I will continue to do whatever I can, with whatever energy I have, to address both of those.” 

And although his words offered a dose of humility, calling for viewers to also recognize his fellow healthcare workers, it was Boy George who summed up exactly why Dr. Fauci has earned a place in the pantheon of amfAR’s honorees. "I love Dr. Fauci because he never took the bait,” he said. "He stood his ground, but he never fell for it. Massive respect mate.” 

The watch the full gala, and make a donation to amfAR’s Fund to Fight COVID-19, visit amfarvirtualgala.org.