Last week, the Natural History Museums of LA County announced their plan to honor the Duchess of Sussex at their Night of Wonder gala. The gala was scheduled for June 14, this coming Saturday. Which would have meant that Meghan and Harry would have stepped out for a glamorous night on the town on the same day the left-behinds were looking grim on the balcony for Trooping the Colour. Unfortunately, the situation in LA is quite complicated right now – there are anti-ICE protests, and Donald Trump has sent in the National Guard AND Marines to quell the protests. So the museum is postponing the Night of Wonder gala until further notice.
Meghan Markle will no longer appear at a previously scheduled event in Los Angeles as clashes continue in the city between the National Guard and protesters. The Duchess of Sussex was set to be honored at the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County’s Night of Wonder gala on Saturday, June 14, but the event has since been postponed.
“As an institution ‘of, for, and with Los Angeles,’ our responsibility during challenging times is clear: to serve as a community resource focused on healing and unity, not celebration,” Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga, President and Director of NHMLAC, said in a statement shared with PEOPLE on Tuesday, June 10.
“Los Angeles needs us to channel our energy toward supporting our neighbors and demonstrating the values that make our city and county strong,” her statement continued.
The decision to postpone the gala was made by the Museum’s Board of Trustees, leadership and event partners, who “unanimously agreed” that pausing the event was “the appropriate response to current community circumstances,” the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County said in a release shared with PEOPLE.
NHMLAC plans to host event on a later date, but will carry on regular daily operations and will continue to host educational programs.
I understand why they’re delaying the gala but I’m still disappointed! It would have been nice to see Meghan and Harry out and about at a black-tie event. But it was the right call to postpone – it would have been worse to NOT cancel the event while LA is going through so much turmoil. I did glance at the Daily Mail’s coverage, and this made me giggle: “A woke gala set to honor Meghan Markle as a ‘champion of underserved communities’ has been scrapped because of the city’s erupting ICE riots.” A WOKE GALA! Museums are woke! Galas are WOKE!
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.
