NEW YORK — The only thing to rival the power of women was the power of the sun.
Handheld fans and jokes helped cool things down on an unseasonably warm afternoon at Variety's Power of Women luncheon, honoring Mariska Hargitay, Anitta, Amy Schumer and Shonda Rhimes as influential women in their respective careers.
"We are the lucky ones in this tent," Schumer joked, comparing the shaded front to the direct sunlight at the back of the outdoor tent Thursday at the Upper East Side's Smithsonian Design Museum, Cooper Hewitt. "I cannot express my empathy more for the back of the room, this feels very Titanic. And there's just hot fish in front of you, I'm so sorry."
The women used their time on the mic to champion the philanthropic causes they support: Hargitay powerfully indicted systemic issues she fights with her Joyful Heart Foundation; Anitta honored her Brazilian upbringing in support of Central Única das Favelas; Rhimes praised the power of community at Debbie Allen Dance Academy; and Schumer highlighted mothers' abilities to get things accomplished with Everytown for Gun Safety.
Amid at times emotional speeches were moments of levity, including introductions by Glenn Close, screenwriter (and Jerry Seinfeld's daughter) Sascha Seinfeld, Brazilian actress Bruna Marquezine and Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria. Comedian, writer and late-night talk show host Amber Ruffin served as host for the afternoon.
Here's everything we saw from the event.
Close had the audience – and Hargitay – fighting back tears.
"I've been daunted and overwhelmed for days now for how to introduce in two minutes my extraordinary friend Mariska. How? I mean, she's, she's a woman's woman, she's a man's woman. She's a lioness licking her cubs. She's one of those extraordinary dogs that sniff out cancer," Close said.
"She's like an ancient, mysterious, powerful, voluptuous, female sculpture in an archaeological museum. She's a comic. She's a healer. She's Mother Earth. … Blah, blah, blah," Close said to an eruption of laughter.
Close then applauded Hargitay's historic 25-season career as Olivia Benson on "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit." ("It isn't just TV for her. It's life," Close said.)
"She still finds the heart, the art and the power in her craft. I am in total awe. She is passion. She is empathy. She is philosophy. She is love," Close said.
Hargitay was rendered speechless, asking for a tissue to wipe her tears before continuing, choking up.
Hargitay spoke about "convictions" and "how impossible it is to reverse mine": That survivors matter and can reclaim hopeful lives; patriarchal impunity needs to end; rape kit backlogs are unacceptable; and the language around rape has to change.
Hargitay also had a clear message about Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction being overturned, "specifically about the reasons" why.
"Too many women's voices were allowed to speak. Hallelujah," she said. "Can't imagine anything more beautiful than that." She cited the risk the New York prosecutors took by having women testify against the movie mogul.
"Risky to let women speak? You're damn right it is. Too many women speaking brings change. Too many women speaking shapes the establishment. Too many women speaking means we get listened to more, and people might actually hear what we have to say. Look what happened when women started saying just two words: me, too," Hargitay said. "The backlash is evidence of how powerful those voices were, how powerful those voices are."
Schumer's brand of self-deprecating humor took a more earnest turn as she recalled empowering herself through a time when she felt insecure.
"When I was shooting the cover for this, I was feeling really vulnerable and confused about my appearance," Schumer told USA TODAY on the red carpet. "And it's good to remember every once in a while that that's not who you are, and work through it." She revealed in February she was diagnosed with Cushing syndrome after an onslaught of online criticism about her "puffier" face and physical appearance.
Schumer's honor came as she has faced both support and criticism for her comments on the Israel-Gaza war, some of which people felt conflated Palestinians with Hamas.
"The focus is so razor-sharp on Jewish people but not on Hamas," she told Variety in her cover story for the Power of Women issue. "It's gotten to this place where you can't speak up for other Jews without people feeling like it's a slight to the conditions in Gaza," where more than 35,000 people have been killed after terrorist group Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel and took 250 hostages in October.
She continued: "I don't agree with anything that Netanyahu is doing, and neither do the Israelis I know. Of course what’s going on in Gaza is sickening, horrifying and unthinkable And, I don't think it's OK to hate anyone because they were born Jewish."
Though Schumer largely avoided the controversy in her speech, Sascha Seinfeld alluded to it as she praised the comedian.
"As a Jewish woman I feel so much safer knowing that she's there, willing to speak on my behalf when the time calls for it," said Seinfeld, 23, during her intro.
Brazilian pop star Anitta recalled how her childhood in the "ghetto" of the Favelas in her home country pushed her to find success.
"We are born believing these things are not possible," she said. "I wanted to shake my ass, I wanted to be free, I wanted to make my own money. And the person I am here, I just wanted to fight for it."
She told USA TODAY it was an honor "to be representing my country, to be representing my community," and that she's excited to bring "Brazilian energy" to her upcoming tour supporting her new album, "Funk Generation."
"I would encourage you all to find an organization in your community … and roll up your sleeves and help out," Rhimes said.
The ABC stalwart and "Bridgerton" creator used the entirety of her time on stage to praise Debbie Allen and her dance academy's commitment to creating a safe space for dancers of all backgrounds.
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