Family Equality’s Night at the Pier gala has set its sights on a power Hollywood couple to honor on May 12.
Uber-manager and Untitled Entertainment founding partner Jason Weinberg and his screenwriter husband Merritt Johnson will be feted at Pier Sixty in New York with the Luigi Caiola Luminary Award at an event set to celebrate love, equality, family and inspiration and a decade of marriage equality thanks to the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court case of Obergefell v. Hodges.
Their honor will be presented by clients and close friends like Oscar nominee Demi Moore, Marlo Thomas and Debbie Harry. Other planned tributes include Peggy Gillespie, co-founder and director of Family Diversity Projects, receiving the Hostetter-Habib Family Award presented by renowned choreographer Bill T. Jones. The night’s program also plans talent performances from Broadway shows like The Outsiders, Six, The Wiz, Kimberly Akimbo, Some Like it Hot and more.
“This event is more than a moment. It’s a movement,” explained Family Equality CEO Darra Gordon. “We are not simply acknowledging the resilience of LGBTQ+ families. We are actively investing in their future. Each story, each song, each dollar is a critical catalyst in a world where our families are not just respected, but where they are guaranteed the full spectrum of legal and social protection, now and for generations to come.”
Honorary chairs for next month’s event are Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka and Nick Scandalios. The honorary committee includes Kristin Caskey, Bruce Cohen and Gabe Catone, John Gore, Kevin Huvane, Jef Kaplan and Amanda Green, Bryan Lourd and Bruce Bozzi, Joe Machota and Michael Russell, Margo and James L. Nederlander, Zac Posen and Harrison Ball, Lauren Reid, Daryl Roth, and Robert E. Wankel. Proceeds from Night at the Pier will support Family Equality’s work to advance legal and lived equality for LGBTQ+ families nationwide.
Weinberg and Johnson are longtime supporters of Family Equality in addition to being parents of twin sons. Weinberg is one of Hollywood’s most prolific and well-known talent managers and producers. His Untitled roster includes Michael Arden, Penelope Cruz, Laura Dern, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Jane Fonda, Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Lange, Bonnie Milligan, Demi Moore, Mike Myers, Leslie Odom, Jr., Zac Posen, Zachary Quinto, Kelly Ripa, Chris Rock, Sam Rockwell, Molly Ringwald, Benny Safdie, Dominic Sessa, Jean Smart, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Olivia Wilde and Russell Wilson.
Johnson is a producer and screenwriter with credits that include the Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning Temple Grandin and the series In Treatment, which earned him a Writers Guild Award.
A cause close to their hearts: Merritt Johnson and Jason Weinberg are parents to twin sons, Jasper Johnson-Weinberg and Harry Johnson-Weinberg. The family is pictured here at Family Equality’s Night at the Pier on May 15, 2023.
(Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Family Equality)
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