Charlize Theron took a swipe at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s star-studded wedding in Venice.
As previously reported, Bezos, 61, and Sánchez, 55, tied the knot in a black-tie ceremony on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice on Friday, June 27.
The couple, who are now reportedly honeymooning at the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace, celebrated with a $50 million three-day extravaganza that included a welcome party, the wedding ceremony, and an “all-nighter” pajama-themed bash.
Guests at the festivities included Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Kris Jenner, Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Brady, Sydney Sweeney, Karlie Kloss, Mick Jagger, Bill Gates, Gayle King, Ivanka Trump, and Orlando Bloom.
During the Saturday night “Dolce Notte” (Sweet Night) pajama party, which featured a Versace dress worn by the bride and a buffet of Italian desserts, Usher and DJ Cassidy performed as fireworks exploded over the Venice Laguna.
Guests danced late into the night, with one insider telling PEOPLE: “It was epic. A full-fledged dance party with everyone standing on the banquettes and all of the sofas and couches.”
The celebrations drew protests from locals and environmental activists who criticized the Amazon founder over wealth inequality and climate concerns.
Ahead of the wedding, Greenpeace unfurled a banner in St. Mark’s Square that read, “If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax,” while a dummy of Bezos clutching fake dollars was tossed into the Grand Canal, per Irish Star.
While hosting the fifth annual Block Party for the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project on Saturday at Universal Studios, Theron, 49, addressed the headlines surrounding the event.
“I think we might be the only people who did not get an invite to the Bezos wedding,” she told the crowd, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “But that’s okay because they suck and we’re cool.”
During her speech, the Old Guard actress also delivered a passionate message on global issues, praising her guests for showing up “especially when the world feels like it’s burning because it is”.
She continued: “Here in Los Angeles, in the U.S. and across the globe, we’re moving backwards fast. Immigration policy has destroyed the lives of families, not criminals; women’s rights are becoming less and less every day; queer and trans lives are increasingly being erased; and gender-based violence is on the rise.”
The Oscar and Golden Globe winner, who immigrated to the US from South Africa as a teenager, added, “This isn’t just policy, it’s personal,” before the crowd applauded. “Yeah, f*** them.”
Theron, who was deported at 19 for overstaying her work visa before later becoming a US citizen, also called out “foreign aid cuts [that] have brought HIV and AIDS programs in my home country of South Africa to an absolute standstill”.
She added: “All of this is not just detrimental, it’s dangerous; people will lose their lives – many have already, unfortunately, and at a frightening rate. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see this kind of unnecessary suffering”.
However, Theron emphasized there is still hope, telling attendees: “What we also see, what we cannot miss, is the resistance. There is hope. There is power in all of us standing up, organizing, protesting, voting, and caring for each other, and refusing to accept that this is the new normal.”
The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project “invests in and advances the health and safety of young people in Southern Africa to create a more equitable future for all,” according to its website.
