Inside Richie Akiva’s Cannes All-Nighter, Where Cher Partied and Travis Scott Allegedly Fought
Nightlife guru Richie Akiva knows how to throw a soiree. Thursday night was no different, when Akiva threw his annual The After party following the amfAR gala during the Cannes Film Festival.
Tucked away at a villa in Cannes, a stone’s throw from Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc (where the prestigious amfAR gala was held), the afterparty, thrown by Akiva and co-host Badius, lured celebrities and featured a rotating roster of DJs who kept the party going until 9:30 a.m.
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Among the celebrities in attendance were Michelle Rodriguez, music stars Tyga and Future, models Alton Mason and Winnie Harlow, and Cher with boyfriend Alexander “AE” Edwards, who allegedly was at the center of a physical altercation with fellow attendee Travis Scott, according to reports. (The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to reps for Scott and Tyga, who was reportedly involved in the fight, for comment, but they have not responded.)
Akiva’s party is one of the strictest doors during Cannes, with a tight guest list and a gate to be let through. Guests then go up a long, candlelit driveway leading up to the villa.
The party has grown in recent years, according Akiva, which is something he’s thinking of dialing back, he told THR the day after the bash.
“Our first party in Cannes was in 2013 or 2014,” says Akiva, recalling how the party began. “We had our friends and people that were staying with us, and we always had a nice house close to the amfAR gala, and we just wanted to invite our friends back to the house. So it started out a little bit smaller and exclusive, it wasn’t like it is now. And it’s going to go back to that next year.”
Asked about the fight that ensued during the wee hours of the morning, Akiva tells had the DJ stop the music. With a mic in hand, he was heard by saying, “Stop, stop, stop, stop. Please stop the fucking beef, not in my shit. You want to take that shit outside, take that shit outside but respect me. I have too much to lose.” A few later later though, he declined to comment on the altercation.
Inside this year’s party, the room was awash in a purple-and-white light show. Throughout the night, DJs including Diplo, DJ Cruz, DJ Ruckus, Hale Zero and Kaz James kept the party going.
Over the course of the night, the dance floor was packed, while throughout the villa, bars were set up with drinks in different rooms, where guests relaxed and chatted.
Midway through the night, Akiva could be spotted on the dance floor welcoming artists like Scott.
“I’m really proud of this event and outside of the Met Gala this is probably my biggest event. Everyone is telling me they had a blast last night. For me, they don’t understand how I feel about it because I’m a perfectionist. I don’t think it was one of my best ones,” said Akiva, who spoke more about what the vibe was like during the early years of the party.
“There would be Kate Hudson dancing in the couch and things were intimate,” continued Akiva. “We want to get back to that. We are all friends, with our model and celebrity friends, and we knew every person there and you could easily talk at the party when it first started. Like, Kanye [West] would get up and perform. It started organic and small and grew and grew as friends wanted to get involved. But now there are too many chefs in the kitchen. I need to bring the soul back into the event by changing the house so people won’t know where the event is. It has been at the same villa for the past six to seven years so everyone knows where it is. Also, there are too many holes where security is getting paid off to let people in. When it’s smaller you can keep things tight and keep people accountable.”
During the festival, Akiva says he’s been spending time playing games with friends. “We play water volleyball and swim and it’s gets really competitive. It’s just my friends and I, and we play game after game, where we have teams. We don’t really do the social events, the day clubs or the beach clubs. We don’t do any of that stuff. We just have a big lunch here because we don’t really go out to lunch anymore.”
In February, Akiva announced that he is no longer apart of The Ned Nomad, a members-only New York City club and hotel where Rihanna and Emily Ratajkowski have been fixtures.
But ever moving, Akiva has new projects in the works. “I’m building three projects right now in New York. One of them is a hotel that I will open in two years, as well as a restaurant and my last nightclub ever. There’s a place called Ferdi that I took the rights to that’s in Paris and I’m bringing it to New York.”
Updated 5/28/2024: With information on Richie Akiva’s no comment on the altercation and remarks during the party.
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