Inside the 15th Annual Golden Heart Awards—Where Cyndi Lauper and Dionne Warwick Performed 

“Sometimes, the simplest solution is the most impactful,” said Michael Kors to his audience at Chelsea’s Glasshouse. Last night at the 15th Annual Golden Heart Awards, the titan of American fashion reflected on his decades-long relationship with God’s Love We Deliver, which was born out in the AIDs crisis. Now, the charity delivers more than 10,000 medically tailored meals to the city’s most vulnerable. 

“It was the late ’80s, and there was no treatment,” Kors said. “My friend told me about the organization, which was tiny and in the basement of a church. I was struck immediately.”

In the next room, glittering guests arrived at a New York City-themed cocktail hour that offered drinks from Bemelmans Bar. In partnership with Eater, Vox’s food and dining platform, iconic haunts, including Sardi’s and Frenchette, served savory treats to the likes of Anna Wintour, Naomi Watts, Jordan Roth, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, and Tommy Dorfman. 

As the sun set through the panoramic windows, guests moved to the splendidly set dining room for an evening of song and celebration. 

Legendary music producer Clive Davis took the stage to introduce Don Lemon, the recipient of the Golden Heart Award for Achievement in Broadcasting. “It takes courage to be a journalist,” Davis said to cheers from the crowd.

Davis welcomed friend and living legend Dionne Warwick to the stage. At the sight of a sequined Warwick, the stunned audience stood and showered the iconic chanteuse with applause. 

“Don,” Warwick cooed. “You know I love you.” And the Grammy winner gave a rousing rendition of “What the World Needs Now.”

Emotion swept over the crowd, crashing most squarely on Lemon himself. As he took the stage, the newscaster wiped tears from his eyes. Over the past 18 months, Lemon, as the anchor of Don Lemon Tonight and a correspondent across CNN, spoke truth to the American people during some of the country’s most difficult chapters: a deadly pandemic, a constant stream of misinformation, a racial reckoning, a summer of protests, a contested presidential election, a violent insurrection, and the collapse of Afghanistan after two decades of war. “If I, as a gay black man, can’t tell the truth,” Lemon said. “Then who can?”

In his acceptance speech, Lemon—like Kors—recalled his experience of being a young gay man in New York at the height of the crisis. He spoke of the enormous progress, the remaining challenges, and the real threat of reversal. 

Throughout the program, speakers and honorees echoed that organization created to fight the devastation of one pandemic now faces another. God’s Love saw a 25% increase in demand due to the devastation of Covid. Thanks to the tireless efforts of volunteers and the generosity of many in attendance, no one was ever turned away. In spite of enormous odds, the love New Yorkers have for their neighbors prevailed. 

Harry Santa-Olalla served as the evening’s charismatic auctioneer. With Broadway star power and Olympic stamina—he sprinted one from one side of the room—Santa-Olalla fetched high prices for the three lots, all very New York. A painting by Eric Haze, the graffiti artist and friend of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, fetched $30,000. A night at the theater with Michael Kors and Anna Wintour broke $50,000. The energy in the room crescendoed with the third and final prize: a night at Club Cumming, Alan Cumming’s decadent East Village cabaret.  

Cumming, ever the consummate emcee, took over as he pressured the crowd to go higher. At one point, Santa-Olalla rushed to the stage to assure the audience that, in spite of Cummings’ innuendoes, the offer entailed only legal pleasures. 

After a delicious (and again, very New York) feast of steak and fries, Michael Kors took the stage to thank his guests. 

Lemon was not the only honoree to be serenaded by a musical legend. Cyndi Lauper performed for Billy Porter, recipient of the Michael Kors Award for Outstanding Community Service. Lauper sang, movingly, “Not My Father’s Son” from Kinky Boots, the musical in which Porter starred. 

Due to travel complications, Porter appeared virtually from London. Earlier this year, Porter came out as HIV positive, a remarkable step for any public figure as the disease remains widely stigmatized. 

Anna Wintour closed out the night with a warm speech to Kors and, in celebration of his 40 years in business, a surprise performance by Broadway Inspirational Voices.