Charlotte Tilbury, another Albies sponsor, gathered her own grand troupe of guests that included Dominic West, Felicity Jones (in a sculptural, spherical Tamara Ralph dress that she told Vogue was “delightfully comfortable”), Gwendoline Christie, Isla Fisher, Richard E. Grant, Sabrina Elba, and Kaya Scodelario. “We’re team Charlotte,” said West, reaching to plant two solid kisses on the makeup maven’s cheeks. “Who isn’t, when it’s a party?”

The 2025 honorees were Guatemalan journalist José Ruben Zamora, Gambian entrepreneur and women’s rights trailblazer Fatou Baldeh, American journalist and former Boston Globe and Washington Post editor Marty Baron, and philanthropist and gender equality champion Melinda French Gates. Ford Foundation president Darren Walker received the lifetime achievement award. Dame Emma Thompson, Meryl Streep (as Meryl, not Miranda—but still dressed in Dolce & Gabbana), Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Adern, and the Clooneys were among the presenters, with British late night talk show host Graham Norton hosting.

The night was punctuated by emotional moments, stories shared of the CFJ’s work to wage justice by providing free legal aid in defense of free speech and women’s rights in over 40 countries. Across this year alone, dozens of journalists have been free and thousands of women have received free legal support to defend their rights by their work. Each of the honorees made rousing acceptance speeches to thunderous standing ovations.

Brandi Carlile was the first performer of the evening, with an acoustic rendition of her song “The Joke,” a glowing balled for hope and optimism that she made as an anthem for tough, divisive times. She finished her set with a solemn piano version of Tears for Fears’s “Mad World.”

Settling into their dinner tables in the grand hall, guests enjoyed platters of prosciutto and bowls of rainbow raw vegetables, and fig and fruit-studded cheese boards before bowls of penne al’arrabiata. Later, dessert petit fours of tiramisu and berry meringues were passed around. On this reporter’s table was Annika Freyer, president of the Fondation Chanel who work tirelessly to empower women and girls across the world, the CFJ’s director of communications Alex Butcher-Nesbitt and CFJ’s general counsel and secretary Jacqueline Ryall.

The overarching vibe of the evening was joyous and jovial. Streep opened her time on stage by pledging $1 million to the CFJ to ripples of gasps through the crowd. “It’s not a billion, Melinda!” Streep said. “I’m still working girl!”

“It’s very clever having an earl introduce a ‘Baron’,” Baron said when accepting his award on stage.

“I’m much too young to be accepting a lifetime achievement award,” joked Walker, who ended his speech with a striking, summative quote from Dr. Martin Luther King: “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.”

A toast was made toward Hope the whale, our evening’s mascot—the colossal, 25.2 meter-long blue whale skeleton suspended above the museum’s spectacular space. “Does everyone here know my wife’s name means ‘hope’ too?” said Clooney onstage, closing out the evening with a final performance by John Legend on the piano.

See below for Vogue’s exclusive look instead The Albies 2025.