Madonna Makes Surprise Appearance At New York Pride Party
New York City is roaring back to life after lockdown, and the latest evidence came Thursday night when Madonna herself popped up at a special LGBTQ Pride Month celebration at the Boom Boom Room at The Standard, High Line hotel.
Following a full evening of music provided by Kaytranada, Honey Dijon, Misshapes and Eli Escobar, the Material Girl emerged at around 1:30 a.m., and sang two tunes: Hung Up and I Don’t Search I Find.
The legendary singer, was dressed in a combo of her classic mesh fabric look (including a fairly see-through top), long pink fingerless gloves and icy blue air, stunning the entire room.
But what was even more stunning was how she auctioned off three new, original Polaroids shot by her and Ricardo Gomes at her home earlier this month, inspired by New York City art. Each was individually framed and personally signed, and “Star Trek” actor Zachary Quinto helped out with the auction, which raised over $100,000 for The Ali Forney Center and Haus of Us in a matter of minutes, according to a news release. Another lucky fan in the crowd also got a selfie with the pop icon for $10,000.
Three more original Polaroids shot by Madonna and Gomes are now part of a silent auction that will benefit the Hetrick Martin Inn.
Madonna also addressed the crowd with a heartfelt speech, where she talked about quarantine and why it was so important for her to party in person this year to celebrate LGBTQ pride.
“I just wanna say also, that to not celebrate pride in a way that I am connected to people would have been a tragedy to me,” she said. “Many people said don’t do it… you might.. you might…. you might have fun!”
“Listen, when I came here there’s only two entities, two energy forces, that I need to thank, that I really need to thank: this fucking city, New York City, and the gay community. Because both of you gave me life and for that, I shall be forever grateful.”
The evening also included an original multimedia art installation, which was projected in Times Square and will be shown at The Standard, High Line for the remainder of Pride Month; Madonna’s “Vogue” classic got an updated remix called “Vogue Ballroom Function,” and played before her entrance.