Derick Monroe Celebrates 5th Anniversary Of ‘Behind The Scenes Beauty’ With Raven-Symoné, Whoopi Goldberg, And More
Met Gala Monday isn’t just the Oscars of Fashion. It also marks the anniversary of Derick Monroe’s Behind The Scenes Beauty—a conversation series where he shares his expertise as a three-time Emmy nominee and speaks with other beauty professionals and influential celebrities.
In honor of the show’s fifth anniversary, Monroe marked the occasion on Sunday (May 5) with a special anniversary brunch where he honored the series’ first guest, Raven-Symoné, with the Outstanding Contribution Award. Makeup artist Merrell Hollis received the same honor as Whoopi Goldberg, the Trailblazers Award, and businesswoman Danelle Jackson Howard earned the Representation Award.
“THANK YOU GOD! So blessed to have put on amazing event and see it through! It has been an experience to say the least but came out beautifully! I’m so grateful,” wrote Monroe on Instagram following the event. Attendees also included Tiffany Haddish, Bevy Smith, Jawn Murray, Claudia Jordan, and Tamron Hall. During the brunch, Goldberg discussed her memoir, Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me, and detailed why it took her so long to mourn their deaths. “Nothing was left unsaid,” she explained.
Behind The Scenes Beauty‘s debut was a roundtable discussion on the Met Gala with an all-Black panel of tastemakers who worked the event. Inspired by VH1’s Behind The Music and Lifetime’s Intimate Portrait, Monroe conceptualized the series because he “wanted to figure out how to shine the light on Black creatives in the [entertainment] industry.”
Raven-Symoné was his first celebrity guest and her appearance “gave credibility” to Behind The Scenes Beauty, allowing for others to want to sit with Monroe and share their own experiences. Over the past five years, 49 episodes have aired with guests ranging from Sherri Shepherd and Sergio Hudson to Tabitha Brown, Wendy Williams, and the late AJ Crimson.
Check out highlights from the anniversary brunch below.
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