“Billie Eilish? “Billie Eilish, your car is here,” a traffic coordinator announced over his megaphone.
There's nothing more democratizing than the Vanity Fair Oscar party, where almost everyone in the room is so famous that no star really stands out, and everyone heads out on Santa Monica Boulevard in what feels like a celebrity school pick-up. When the historic event concluded around midnight Sunday, guests huddled under heat lamps, waiting for the traffic coordinator to publicly criticize their names. Many were sporting the free hotel slippers on offer at the roadside outlet store, shivering until it was their long-awaited turn to climb into a Sprinter van.
Luckily, before everyone left to freeze their feet — or head to Beyoncé and Jay-Z's Gold Party, where no press is allowed — The Times got the inside scoop on the best gossip happening inside. Here are four of the most memorable moments:
1. Lenny Kravitz: the biggest secret Kylie Minogue fan in the world? That certainly seemed to be the case for her as he approached the “Padam Padam” singer, dramatically immersed her in her arms, and showered her with praise for a full five minutes. “You! You're a tough guy!” he shouted. “I don't love you. Really, honey. I respect.”
2. Sure, the Vanity Fair party takes place just a stone's throw from Funke, the trendy Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills. But not all of the celebrities who attended Sunday night's party were familiar with the restaurant, where Kim Kardashian celebrated her 43rd birthday last year. The establishment's chef, Evan Funke, was manning a pizza oven on the outdoor patio to offer guests slices of pie.
“That was the best pizza I've ever had,” Melissa McCarthy told Funke after trying a lemon-tinged white slice.
“Oh yeah?” she replied. “Do you want to come to my restaurant to eat? “I’ll give you my card.”
Lenny Kravitz arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in Beverly Hills on Sunday.
(Evan Agostini / Invisión / Associated Press)
The comedian took her information and put it in her stunning cannoli-shaped bag, which attracted the attention of everyone in the pizzeria. “It was like $20. I thought it was funny, like, 'Put down the gun, take the cannoli,'” she said, referring to a line from “The Godfather.”
She closed her bag and walked away, while Funke pushed her colleague aside and smiled. “She has my card now,” she whispered.
3. After flying to Singapore to see Sabrina Carpenter open for Taylor Swift during the Eras tour, it looks like Barry Keoghan is totally into his new girlfriend. The two were inseparable throughout the night, with Keoghan openly grabbing Carpenter's butt almost every time he followed her.
Carpenter also seemed happy to show off her new boyfriend, introducing him to any friends she found in the crowd. When she brought him face to face with Claudia Sulewski, Finneas O'Connell's partner, she made it a point to explain her choice of clothing to him.
“He's not a whore. He was wearing a jacket,” she said, referring to the sheer mesh tank top the “Saltburn” star was now sporting.
O'Connell stepped in to present Carpenter with the Oscar statuette he had just won for the original song. She pretended to be overwhelmed by the weight of it and then Sulewski took a photo of her cradling the trophy as if she were a baby. Carpenter then tried to give it to Keoghan, but he refused, pointing at the statue as if it were a hot potato that he was superstitious about cursing about.
Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in Beverly Hills on Sunday.
(Evan Agostini / Invisión / Associated Press)
The new couple managed to separate for a few moments, during which Keoghan approached Larry David. “I just want to say I'm a big fan,” the Irish actor told the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star, who was half slumped in a chair looking miserable. “Anyway, I'll leave you alone.”
Carpenter, meanwhile, joined a group of women admiring Vanessa Hudgens' pregnant body. “You should give a master class on how to serve during pregnancy,” Joey King offered. “I want to get pregnant just so I can have those boobs,” Carpenter added.
4. Just because you did a show with Jennifer Coolidge doesn't mean she'll always remember you. Sydney Sweeney, who co-starred with the comedian in the first season of “White Lotus,” eagerly approached Coolidge, only to be met with a momentarily perplexed face.
“Hello,” Coolidge responded politely, before acknowledging that Sweeney was not an intruder but a colleague. “Oh Lord! Hello!”
To be fair, Sweeney debuted a new haircut on Sunday night. But the friend sitting with Coolidge had no problem recognizing the young star, and she immediately launched into a series of questions about her recent stint on “Saturday Night Live.”
“The hardest part was changing costumes while we were going live and running to the next scene,” she told Coolidge and her guest.
Their story was interrupted by Riz Ahmed, who told both actors that he was a fan and then asked if they were at the ceremony that same night. When they said no, Ahmed took the opportunity to tell them what they had missed. “They did something that was actually very emotional: They had the old winners come out and introduce the new ones,” he said. “It was really very emotional.”
