Elton John didn’t let a pandemic get in the way of his annual Oscars viewing party.
The British crooner, 74, pivoted Sunday night and hosted a virtual soiree that raised $3 million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
The first-ever virtual gala — hosted by John, his husband, David Furnish, and their pal Neil Patrick Harris — featured performances by Dua Lipa and the “Crocodile Rock” crooner as well as appearances by Lady Gaga, Cynthia Erivo and the cast of “It’s a Sin.”
Lipa, 25, performed her hits “Levitating,” “Pretty Please,” “Hallucinate” and “Don’t Start Now” and also duetted on “Bennie and the Jets” and “Love Again” with John.
“It was so much fun to perform with the gorgeous Dua Lipa and open up our Party to supporters all over the world,” John said in a statement. “I’m so grateful to Neil for hosting, everyone who attended and all my friends who participated so that we could continue this legendary event to raise vital funds to end the AIDS epidemic.”
It’s unclear how the stars at John’s party reacted when Anthony Hopkins took home the Best Actor award instead of the late Chadwick Boseman, who was greatly favored to win.
Hopkins, who at age 83 is the oldest actor to ever win the award, paid tribute to the “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” star in an acceptance speech that aired after the Oscars.
“Good morning. Here I am in my homeland of Wales — and at 83 years of age, I did not expect to get this award,” Hopkins said. “I really didn’t. I am grateful to the Academy, and thank you.”
He added, “And I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early.”
Boseman died in August at age 43 after secretly battling cancer.