Jeff Bezos married former award-winning journalist Lauren Sanchez this weekend – and it looked like the wedding of the year, with what seemed like half of Hollywood in attendance.
However, Charlize Theron didn’t hold back at her own charity bash when she jokingly dunked on not being invited to Bezos and Sánchez’s three‑day £40million Venice celebrations.
The actress quipped: ‘I think we might be the only people who did not get an invite to the Bezos wedding.’
After giggles and applause from the audience, with a deadpan expression, she added: ‘But that’s OK, because they suck and we’re cool.’
This was Theron’s fifth annual Block Party for her Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project in Los Angeles.
Many have praised her for using her platform and voice to spotlight global crises and make a change.
And after her punchline caused the crowd to erupt with laughter, her tone quickly shifted to the reason for the event, dealing with global issues.
She raised the point that backwards shifts in immigration policies, gender-based violence, and LGBTQ+ rights are personal crises that need to be addressed and supported.
Theron went on to say that new immigration policies have ‘destroyed the lives of families, not criminals’.
She also recognised the light that needs to be shed on helping those struggling with the erosion of trans and queer existence.
South African-born Theron further noted that cuts to foreign aid have crippled HIV and AIDS in her homeland, which could cause people to ‘lose their lives’.
Despite not naming the Trump administration directly, she emphasised how ‘we’re moving backwards, fast.’
Her remarks about the lavish wedding resonated with many people on social media as she urged celebrities to use their influence for activism and world change.
Theron’s charity event famously overlapped with the Bezos affair, with the Amazon boss tying the knot on San Giorgio Maggiore island.
The guest list was truly dazzling, with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Brady, Orlando Bloom, Oprah Winfrey, and Ivanka Trump just a handful of the star-studded entourage.
Roughly 200 high-profile guests were in attendance, from Bill Gates to Kim Kardashian.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though, as a few guests showed up uninvited when protests greeted the Italian ceremony—Greenpeace and other groups rocked up to the wealthy event and accused Bezos of flaunting his money and evading taxes.
There was even a Greenpeace banner in St Mark’s Square that read: ‘If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax’—a clear dig at the billionaire couple.
Critics argue that the extravagant celebration created too much tourism, which potentially posed a threat to the lives of locals.
The Mayor of Venice was not angry, though, and actually defended the couple by stressing that love is universal, and the city officials appreciated the donations made by Bezos and Sanchez.
To avoid any trouble, the newlyweds donated £1million each to three separate environmental organisations and pledged that they would not accept gifts.
Bezos proposed to Sanchez in May 2023 – of course, it was on a yacht in the South of France.
The businessman was previously married to MacKenzie Scott, with whom he shares four children.
Sanchez wore a mermaid-style Dolce & Gabbana dress for her special day, with a layer of handmade lace, not forgetting the floor-length veil.
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