Harrison Ford Celebrates Michael J. Fox at THR’s Social Impact Summit

In a rare moment away from the same old glitz and glam of the entertainment industry, The Hollywood Reporter celebrated some superstars who’re using their platforms to present back to those in need at its Social Impact Summit.

The event, placed on by THR and the Social Impact Fund, honored John Mayer, Stephen and Ayesha Curry and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for his or her charitable efforts, tied to the magazine’s annual Philanthropy issue. Gilead Sciences Inc. presented the afternoon of awards and conversation, with Delta Air Lines, Perlman + Perlman, Macy’s, Good360, Charitybuzz, CARE, Peroni and La Crema also serving as sponsors.

Craig Cichy, executive director of the Social Impact Fund, kicked off the event at Los Angeles’ DGA Theater, followed by The Pitt star Sepideh Moafi delivering opening remarks and setting the tone of the day by telling the story of her own birth.

Moafi’s parents fled Iran and she or he was born in a refugee camp in Germany before the family immigrated to the US; she recalled how her parents arrived in Germany by foot and located the doors to the refugee camp closed, with the people inside forming a human ladder to bring them in and keep them secure.

The actress compared that to today, when the U.S. is “granting a record-low number of individuals in search of asylum. Refugees and immigrants are being demonized. Families are being torn apart. Innocent persons are being placed in detention centers as an alternative of being given the chance to heal from persecution and displacement, and to construct a brand new life,” as she added, “Compassion isn’t something we’d like to learn; it’s something we’d like to recollect.”

Karamo Brown, NBA star Baron Davis, WalkGood LA founder Etienne Maurice and Dr. David Malebranche, executive director of Global HIV Medical Affairs at Gilead, then took part in a “Black Equity, Black Excellence: The Power of Purpose” conversation that revolved across the mental, physical and financial health of Black men.

Queer Eye alum Brown emphasized the necessity to take ownership of 1’s own mental health and noted, “For us to get the infrastructures to work we now have to alter ourselves, and I feel that’s the largest thing for everybody to know.” Maurice also spoke about among the challenges faced by Black-led organizations not “getting the support that we’d like,” as he said 91 percent of unrestricted funds are directed at white organizations.

The primary honor of the day went to Mayer, who received the Philanthropist of the 12 months award for the work done through his Heart and Armor Foundation, a nonprofit that funds research into post-traumatic stress disorder and other veterans health issues. He was presented the award by Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jared Loomis after which joined Heart and Armor executive director Gerard Chocroun on stage for a chat, moderated by news anchor Jamie Yuccas, about their 15 years of collaboration in support of military service members.

Mayer recalled first meeting vets with PTSD and TBI (traumatic brain injury) and realizing that the general public depiction of PTSD was “cartoonish, it’s bonkers, and I used to be blown away by the subtlety of it. I could feel it. I could look into these veterans’ eyes and there wasn’t an oz of pity, but they’re in there. It’s not the preset to search for help; it’s the preset to be self-reliant, and it’s the preset to figure it out. But you may only figure it out with the tools you’ve got, and that’s when I noticed that there’s got to be a approach to a minimum of leave these tools in front of them for them to find.”

“I’d never been deployed, I never shall be deployed, but I got it,” the musician added. “I get how any individual may very well be upset, or the smell of diesel fumes could bring something back. All of us have this sense recall we wish we didn’t have.”

The Currys, who appeared virtually after their flight was canceled as a consequence of the storms on the East Coast, were also recognized as Philanthropists of the 12 months for his or her Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, which Stephen and Ayesha Curry have been running in Oakland since 2019. In that point, the nonprofit has invested greater than $100 million within the Oakland community, provided 35 million meals for youths and families experiencing food insecurity, committed $20 million for literacy programs and rebuilt 24 school playgrounds.

Nonetheless, in chatting with moderator W. Kamau Bell, the NBA star admitted that hearing those numbers read back, “It’s encouraging and barely depressing at the identical time, just knowing how much work must be done. We’d like to inform the story in regards to the work to be sure that the urgency of the necessity is expressed.”

Ayesha echoed that although they’re pleased with their foundation’s work, “Truthfully, most days I just feel offended. I feel offended as a mom. I feel offended as a lady on this community. I feel offended as a human being who was once a toddler, understanding that children could have such lack of, here in 2026. Oftentimes it’s learning find out how to take care of the anger that comes with having to persuade people of why they need to take part and help,” she said, emphasizing, “It’s so interesting that you just form of need to rally people after we’re talking about children.” Bell, a Bay Area native himself, also couldn’t resist asking Stephen to “blink thrice if LeBron [James] is coming to the Warriors,” while the athlete quickly put his hands over the camera.

Next up, Laverne Cox made an appearance to present Gilead Sciences Inc. with the Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy award, as she told the room, “They’ve supported critical domestic initiatives starting from comprehensive youth HIV education to specialized mental health and wellness support for girls living with HIV. Gilead understands what so many still fail to know: that ending an epidemic means treating the entire person. It means breaking down systemic socioeconomic barriers that fuel the HIV epidemic day by day.” Keeley Cain Wettan, executive vp and general counsel at Gilead, accepted the consideration.

Motion Picture & Television Fund CEO Bob Beitcher, Women in Film CEO Kirsten Schaffer, YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles president and CEO Victor Dominguez and Emmakate Young, managing director of brand name marketing and global sponsorships, Delta Air Lines, sat down for a second conversation, this one centered on “The L.A. Safety Net: Legacy Philanthropy & The Industry’s Essential
Infrastructure.” Alisann Blood, co-head of world brand and music partnerships at UTA, moderated the panel, which largely focused on how L.A. can bounce back after blows from the pandemic, strikes, fires and entertainment industry struggles.

Beitcher noted how in the previous few years MPTF has given away roughly $20 million to staff in need but with Hollywood production having reduced significantly, “we’re seeing members leaving the industry, they’ve given up.” He added, “All of us hope that the industry will come roaring back with tax incentives and all those things, and in some unspecified time in the future we’re going to search out ourselves. Our big concern is [it will be] without enough trained, experienced people to do the work.”

To shut out the event, Harrison Ford stopped by to present the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and its founders Michael J. Fox and Deborah W. Brooks, with the Philanthropic Organization of the 12 months award. The muse has turn into one of the vital successful disease-focused nonprofits of the century, funding greater than $3 billion in research and shaping the present scientific landscape for Parkinson’s.

At the rostrum, Ford spoke of how “35 years ago, Michael J. Fox got some very bad news. Most individuals handed something like that endure it; Michael went right to work. Playing Paul Rhoades on Shinking gave me some understanding of what it means to live with Parkinson’s” — Ford’s character is diagnosed within the Apple TV comedy — “and it also gave me Michael, as an actor, as a friend and probably the most stubborn optimist I do know. Through him, I’ve seen what his foundation does,” including being on target to boost $700 million in research this yr alone.

Fox and Brooks then joined Shrinking creator Bill Lawrence for a chat, as the author explained that his father and grandfather were diagnosed with Parkinson’s and “what I used to be struck by was the way it paralyzed my family after we heard that stuff, and the way quickly Mike made the transition from saying, ‘I’m retiring’ to suddenly working harder than anybody I’ve ever met in my life.”

Fox recalled how after going public along with his diagnosis, he would go in online chat rooms and see patients talking about how great his announcement was. “I believed, ‘Why would they be celebrating it?’ And I believed because they’ve just been voiceless for thus long. It was considered an old person’s disease — put Grandma on the porch and just let her rock until she stops rocking. And the truth is, it didn’t need to be that. A number of folks that are young, they’ve quite a bit to supply politically and economically, and as athletes and activists.”

Brooks said those initial patients “had this real sense of being seen — Michael was out in real life, shedding his vanity and just telling it prefer it is and living it prefer it is. And I feel like that combination also was super empowering. Fox can also be very hopeful in regards to the future, sure that “we will do it” and “we will construct a drug that may save people’s lives,” and Lawrence said he’s confident “I’m going to get to see the top of Parkinson’s in my lifetime” due to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.