At the top of the Standard, a heavy gold-plated door separates Le Bain — the Standard’s night club — from the hotel’s exclusive lounge, which Thursday night housed hundreds of New York pride guests awaiting Madonna’s performance.
Inside, guests like Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen, Billy Eichner, Zachary Quinto, Lance Bass, Adam Lambert, Jon Batiste and Lady Fag could be spotted around the room, dancing high above New York’s skyline.
“To not celebrate pride without people would have been a tragedy for me,” Madonna said to the crowd, decreeing the return of New York City nightlife and voguish, raucous parties of legend, the likes of which New York City hasn’t seen for 15 months.
There to raise money for the Ali Forney Center and the Haus of US — two LGBTQ advocacy and support groups — Madonna was joined by Quinto to auction off three original polaroid photographs for $10,000, $25,000 and $25,000 each.
“Everybody in this room is here because you’ve been successful and are making a difference,” said Quinto during the auction.