“May I leave my contortionist skills at the door and speak from the heart? May I not conceal or reframe my anger, but share it so as to move through it to something more fun and more beautiful and less boring and more original?” she told the crowd. “Our business is in a state of emergency, man, and the last thing that I want to do here is lose the celebration under a pile of pissed-off rubble.”
The crowd at the event, presented by Chanel, listened closely—a group that included Tessa Thompson, Zoey Deutch, Kate Hudson, Sarah Paulson, Felicity Jones, Kaitlyn Dever, Claire Foy, Riley Keough, Kerry Condon, Alicia Silverstone, Emma Mackey, and Leslie Mann and her daughter Maude Apatow. Before Stewart’s keynote speech, the attendees were welcomed to their seats by Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor, who took over the leadership post only this past July.
The event was also a congratulatory moment for aspiring filmmakers Alina Simone and Marlén Viñayo, who will receive mentorship and support as this year’s recipients of the Gold Fellowship for Women.
