Scarlett Johansson and Ben Platt Were Honored at the 17th Annual Golden Heart Awards

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 16: (EDITORS NOTE: This image has been retouched.) Michael Kors and Scarlett Johansson attend Golden Heart Awards 2023 benefiting God's Love We Deliver at The Glasshouse on October 16, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)Sean Zanni/Getty Images

Each year, well-dressed and warm-hearted supporters of God s Love We Deliver gather friends of Michael Kors for the Golden Heart Awards. This year s soiree honored stars Scarlett Johansson and Ben Platt for their work on behalf of a wide range of causes closest to the mission of GLWD, including AIDS, cancer, food, hunger, and inclusion. This fiscal year alone, the nonprofit will cook and deliver more than 4 million medically tailored meals to clients, free of charge, marking a 50% increase in clients served from two years ago.

"When I think back to the beginning, God s Love We Deliver was truly a small, grassroots organization, starting with one woman delivering meals. There weren t a lot of options for people who were ill during the AIDS pandemic, and God s Love We Deliver was always there on the ground. Fast forward all these years later, during the pandemic, and they still manage to grow their clientele and never turn anyone in need away," Michael Kors told Vogue.

Atop the 6th floor of The Glasshouse, guests overlooked sweeping skyline views of Manhattan s West Side. Inside, cocktail hour was transformed into the iconic ’80s-era-inspired New York restaurant Indochine, with dim red lighting amidst tall palm plants, leather-clad dancers choreographed by Nick Laughlin, a Vietnamese-French style passed canapé selection, and an upbeat dance playlist by DJ Lina Bradford to match the ambiance.

As the call to dinner rang, guests gathered at their tables with a full brass orchestra setting the tone for the evening. Festivities started with a performance by the sensational star of Broadway s latest revival of Some Like It Hot and Tony Award-winning actor J. Harrison Ghee. Following opening remarks by Michael Kors, Cynthia Erivo presented Ben Platt with the Golden Heart Award for Excellence in the Arts. Just as it seemed Rupert Friend would present Scarlett Johansson with the Golden Heart Award for Philanthropy Activism, Matt Damon emerged from the crowd to shower Johansson in accolades. The night concluded with famed composer David Foster delighting guests by announcing a surprise performance by Mary J. Blige.

"I met Scarlet when she was a teenager, and she s a quintessential native New Yorker—she loves this city and cares greatly about the world, yet she does it so quietly. She s also been a huge supporter of God s Love for years," Michael Kors told Vogue, retelling his personal connection to the evening s honoraries and why they felt like the perfect award recipients. “I met Ben when he was first in Dear Evan Hansen, where I, as a Broadway geek, sat in the theater just bawling (after witnessing his performance). Everything that you see Ben bring to the stage, he also brings real thought, care, and compassion for the world in his everyday life to use his platform to inspire change.”