Barack Obama Praises Magic Johnson’s “Pragmatic, Optimistic Approach” to HIV Diagnosis and How it Changed the World

Magic Johnson estimates that he receives somewhere between 300 and 500 requests every year from organizations all over the United States with offers to honor him or his family. He declines almost all — except the one that he received this year from the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

The organization rolled out the red carpet for Magic and wife Cookie Johnson to receive the highest honor at the Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS, a black-tie event that took place at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Thursday evening. The pair turned up alongside their children Andre, EJ and Elisa, and mingled with close friends and celebrity couples like Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson and Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance, with the latter pair taking on the task of emceeing the event.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

• Events of the Week: 'Dicks: The Musical,' 'The Creator' and More

• Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance to Host Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS

• 'Winning Time' Canceled at HBO After Two Seasons

Magic added that while he agreed to take the stage, he also had a few stipulations for the program, like A-list entertainment and electric vibes. ETAF officials and party planners pulled it off, too, by having Gladys Knight close out the evening and by installing a dance floor inside the ballroom directly in front of the stage. Magic and Cookie got the party started by having a private couple’s dance as they were serenaded by the legendary singer.

Long before that happened, the Johnsons walked the red carpet, where the NBA great took a few minutes to speak with The Hollywood Reporter about the quality time he spent with Taylor in the early 1990s. During a press conference on Nov. 7, 1991, Magic revealed that he was HIV positive, and coincidentally that same year Taylor launched her foundation with a focus on fundraising and fighting for a cure. The two joined forces in the mid- to late-1990s by sharing the stage at Macy’s Passport, an event that for many years was a high-profile fundraiser on the social calendar.

“Elizabeth and I co-hosted or co-chaired the event for what must’ve been five or six years in a row,” Magic said. “We raised a lot of money and the fashion show was always unbelievable. Every year, we had the top models, so it was just an awesome event.” As for the bond he shared with the late actress and activist, Magic noted, “We shared a love for bringing about change and raising awareness levels. We both understood that the disease needed our faces, our platforms and also our hearts. With that being said, we were able to provide that.”

Thursday night’s program — supported by Gilead Sciences and Bulgari — provided a live auction in partnership with Christie’s and auctioneer Brett Sherlock, and a guest list that also included ETAF ambassador Paris Jackson (Taylor’s goddaughter, who arrived to the event with a bandana-wearing Doberman Pinscher named Koa), Rick and Kathy Hilton, Jennifer Tilly, Dancing With the Stars pro Gleb Savchenko and others.

As part of the tribute to the Johnsons, Vance read a letter from former President Barack Obama, who recalled the impact they have had on the public’s perception of the disease. “They didn’t just help raise research dollars or educate the public. They moved us to think in an entirely new way about a condition affecting millions of people around the world — changing attitudes with the kind of grace and encouragement that only true leaders can display,” Obama wrote. “It was the same grace and courage Elizabeth Taylor displayed when she became the first globally recognized HIV and AIDS activist. Work that has been carried on in so many ways by the foundation that bears her name. Magic’s pragmatic, optimistic approach to his diagnosis ended up changing the way the world saw the disease.”

During his time at the podium, Magic also looked back on how far they’ve come. “When I think about my journey 32 years ago, when people say I wouldn’t be here, it’s companies like Gilead and others who provided [an opportunity]. At that time there was only one drug, but the blessing is, now there are over 40. We made some great strides. Now we can have dinners and talk openly about HIV and AIDS, where back then we couldn’t.”

Best of The Hollywood Reporter

• Rosie O'Donnell on Ellen, Madonna, Trump and 40 Years in the Queer Spotlight

• Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Stylists: Why Sydney Sweeney, Sadie Sink, Anne Hathaway, Angela Bassett and Jodie Turner-Smith Love Their Image Makers

• The Environmental Cost of Red Carpet Fashion

Click here to read the full article.