Monday night‘s Comic Relief Gala in New York City combined comedy and compassion, bringing together entertainment heavy-hitters to support the fight to end global poverty. The annual event delivered sharp humor, heartfelt moments in stand-up sets and musical performances—and a strong call to action for a world in need.
“When we laugh together, we share something deeply human and powerful,” Alison Moore, CEO of Comic Relief US, said in her opening remarks. And with $436 million raised and over 52 million children and families helped globally, the mission was clear: laughter drives change.
Comedian Phoebe Robinson set the tone with a call-out to the room: “If there’s anyone here in their 70s and down to put me in their will, that’s cool. I’ll see you through the last third of your life.” She went on, “Anyone have advice on how to have sex with a 70-year-old?”
A voice from the crowd yelled, “Turn the lights off!”
Saturday Night Live alum Tim Meadows brought some big ideas, asking, “Why aren’t we throwing garbage into volcanoes? I bet God’s thinking, ‘Why aren’t they using the giant holes I made?’”
The Daily Beast contributor Matt Friend delivered a pitch-perfect, mercurial Donald Trump impression, engaging with The View host Whoopi Goldberg in the audience. “You like me now, Whoopi?” Friend-as-Trump asked. “She doesn’t like me too much on her show.”
Amy Schumer‘s set featured a mix of physical comedy and biting commentary: “People want to be hot so bad they literally... RUN.” She jogged in place, panting dramatically before yelling, “Somebody f*** me!”
Then, mid-sentence in her own tribute to Goldberg, Schumer abruptly stopped. “Is somebody eating fucking chips?” she said, scanning the crowd and zeroing in on The Daily Beast’s own Joanna Coles, a co-chair of the event, sitting right below the stage. “It was like an earthquake. I think they could hear (the chomping) in the back,” Samantha Bee recalled of Coles' thunderous snack on this week’s episode of The Daily Beast Podcast, likening the moment to a classic “Mr. Bean sketch.”
“What kind of chips?” Schumer inquired from the stage, to which Coles clarified: “roasted vegetable chips.” After doing an impression of Coles, Schumer joked, “I’m being heckled by Dame Judi Dench,” which Coles labeled “a career highlight I didn’t know I needed.”
“On my deathbed, I’m going to think about my family, my children, and those chips that were eaten as Amy Schumer was talking,” Bee concluded.
The night also featured some tender moments. One formerly homeless individual shared his story of finding stability through Comic Relief’s partner Covenant House. After fleeing brutal hardship in Africa, Liam Lunkamba found himself unhoused and living under the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City; with assistance, he was able to enroll in college and find a job—and is now a “youth ambassador” at Covenant House NY. Lunkamba’s inspiring story inspired many in the audience to open their wallets.
The evening closed with a heartfelt remembrance from Billy Crystal—“Go to his IMDb and you will s--t yourself,” Schumer noted— Goldberg, and Zelda Williams, standing in for her father, the late Robin Williams. (The three comedians and friends first co-hosted what was for years an HBO telethon for the first time in 1986.)
Williams reminded the crowd that her dad often hired homeless people on his film and TV sets, creating “generational differences” in their lives. “It doesn’t just take companies, it takes individuals,” she said.
In the end, Crystal summed up the charity’s mission perfectly: “Comic Relief—it’s no joke.”
