Jack Black performs at BOVET 1822 and Artists for Peace and Justice's Songs From the Cinema benefit at No Name in Los Angeles on Feb. 23, 2017. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Artists for Peace and Justice)
It was just before midnight inside an exclusive Fairfax Avenue watering hole when Jack Black prepared to take his turn on stage during BOVET 1822 and Paul Haggis’ Artists for Peace and Justice inaugural “Songs From the Cinema” concert benefit.
Less than 100 people had already witnessed stars like Jeff Bridges, Rita Wilson, Moby and Jenny Lewis perform beloved songs from iconic films as part of the intimate show, which was conceived and curated by Jackson Browne. The rocker even performed several times throughout the night for the crowd, which included Quincy Jones, Jeremy Renner, Maxwell, Sacha Baron Cohen, Petra Nemcova, Claire Forlani, Jimmy Jean-Louis, BOVET owner Pascal Raffy and Artists for Peace and Justice CEO David Belle.
But when Black grabbed the mic, he jokingly wanted to know if a certain A-list Oscar winner happened to be hiding in the venue somewhere. “Is Meryl Streep in the audience tonight?” he inquired, before getting political. “I just hope she wins the Oscar and talks some more shit about that asshole.”
Black was referring, of course, to Streep’s Jan. 8 speech at the Golden Globes when she accepted her Cecil B. DeMille Award and took aim at then-President-elect Donald Trump. He continued his introductory remarks by defending what she said and applauding her courage to speak out. “A lot of people say, ‘Oh that’s just liberals … patting themselves on the back.’ I don’t agree. I thought it took balls,” Black said. “I thought she was very brave. I was very inspired by it. To get up there and tell the truth about the president of the United States in front of a billion people — that takes courage and is very inspiring.”
Streep is nominated in the best actress category for her work in Florence Foster Jenkins, and Black noted that if she doesn’t win, guests in the room should follow in her footsteps by speaking out against Trump. “To the winners in here, I hope you do the same, ya know?” he said, before launching into an electric version of one of his School of Rock hits. It was a performance that received a standing ovation.
Other performers during the nearly three-hour show included Catero Colbert, Jonathan Wilson, Judith Owen, Paul Beaubrun, The Living Sisters, The Songbirds and The Haden Triplets, all of whom were backed by the Hot Club of Los Angeles, the night’s house band for the evening.
Now this: Jack Black applauds Meryl Streep’s courageous @goldenglobes speech, hopes she wins Oscar, goes after @POTUS again. pic.twitter.com/DALs4phji4
— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) February 24, 2017
Jack Black gets deserving standing ovation after electric School of Rock perf @artistsforpeace pic.twitter.com/FK6yURcHg4
— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) February 24, 2017
