At the Elton John Aids Foundation’s 32nd annual Academy Awards Viewing Party, Tiffany Haddish sits down with Sir Elton John and David Furnish. Full story at https://lucire.com/insider/20240311/elton-john-aids-foundation-raises-record-amount-at-32nd-annual-academy-awards-viewing-party/
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00:00 Now, David, I want to ask you a question.
00:03 Why is it so important to continue to keep the spotlight on HIV and AIDS?
00:08 It's super important because there are still new infections happening every day.
00:13 A lot of people think that AIDS has gone away and that we've solved the problem,
00:17 when in fact there's people that are at risk from contracting HIV
00:20 or people who are HIV positive and don't know it.
00:22 So we need to get through to those groups.
00:24 We need to make sure that they have access to information and testing and then treatment.
00:29 So we want to sweep up all of those people that need to be on treatment or need to be on prep,
00:33 and then we can have an AIDS-free future.
00:35 Yeah, well, I know that to be a fact because in my community alone--
00:38 and I still live in South Central LA--
00:40 there are still cases popping up all the time.
00:42 All of them.
00:43 Yeah, and--
00:44 There's some really worrying statistics.
00:45 Yeah, it's very concerning.
00:47 So that's part of the reason why I made sure I was here today.
00:49 And a younger generation of people didn't grow up with it the way that Alton & 9 did,
00:53 and so they think, well, they're not at risk,
00:55 when in fact we're seeing alarming rises in new infections amongst young people.
00:58 Yeah.
00:59 And they don't get tested because they don't know they have it.
01:01 Right.
01:02 So it's--which is something we're addressing in England,
01:04 but we have a lot to do, a lot of work to do on that front.
01:08 But that's why we're here.
01:10 So people are afraid to get tested.
01:12 They're afraid to go into a hospital because they don't want to be seen.
01:15 They're afraid to go into a doctor's surgery.
01:17 And so we're trying to combat that by getting people tested.
01:21 Now, Alton and David, what are your favorite parts of the evening?
01:25 Like, what do you most look forward to on this Oscar night?
01:29 I love the music, but I also like catching up with people I haven't seen for a while.
01:33 And there are people who come here that I've never met.
01:36 So that, for me, is exciting because at heart I'm still a fan.
01:40 So when I meet someone that I like and I'm impressed with,
01:43 whether they're an actress or an actor or a singer or an artist or a photographer, whatever,
01:50 it's just--people come here to have a good time.
01:53 They're in a good mood.
01:54 And so it rubs off on you as the evening goes on.
01:56 And you go home and you're exhausted mentally,
01:59 but you're actually filled with so much love that it feels--it's hard to get to sleep.
02:03 And people that have been to the Oscars say they much prefer coming here because it's more relaxed.
02:07 You can get up and move around. It's more fun.
02:09 You can watch the show, but you can still have a good time, have a nice meal,
02:13 kick back and enjoy yourself and have a laugh.
02:15 As a notable champion of young talent, what was it about Gabriels that you loved
02:20 and why did you choose them as this year's performers?
02:23 It's great to see them start with nothing and then just come through here.
02:27 They tour with Harry Styles. They're doing great.
02:31 And I'm so proud of them because the music is--you have to stick around and see this band.
02:35 I want them to be here.
02:36 Jacob Lusk is outrageous.
02:38 And the whole band, the girls, everyone about it is just joyous music.
02:43 It blew us away at the rehearsal yesterday.
02:45 It's gospel, soul, the music I love most.
02:48 David, as the chair of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, can you tell us more about what funds raised tonight will be supporting?
02:56 Education programs, going within amongst vulnerable communities and getting the right information about HIV
03:02 and sweeping away the wrong information.
03:04 By doing that, having more open and positive conversations to reduce stigma,
03:09 getting people to have HIV tests, get their results, and then make sure they have access to medication
03:15 and understand the importance of staying on that medication because one pill a day reduces your viral load so far that it's undetectable
03:22 and then you don't pass the disease on to someone else.
03:24 So treatment is prevention, which is the best news of all.
03:27 If everybody knew their status and everyone was on their medications, there'd be no new infections.
03:31 And that's how we're going to end AIDS.
03:33 David and Elton, this year's Oscar party is celebrating the Rocket Fund.
03:38 Tell us more about this and why it's a continued focus for the foundation.
03:44 The Rocket Fund is turbocharging our efforts to end AIDS.
03:48 And by reaching our financial goal, we believe we can actually end AIDS by 2030, which is amazing.
03:54 If you think where this disease started, that within our lifetime, we're going to take the world's largest disease and say goodbye to it, which is amazing.
04:01 Which is pretty amazing when you consider how long it's been around, a long time, but consider cancer, consider diabetes,
04:08 and think it's a remarkable fact that we can end this disease and we can end it by 2030.
04:14 So that's what the Rocket Fund is all about, is putting more money into areas that really need the education and the medicines.
04:21 So it's just another effort to raise more money, basically.
04:25 And the consistency is what's important because if we slow down, we're going to lose the gains that we've made.
04:31 So we also work in partnership with governments because government's funding has been a huge thing
04:36 that's changed the entire trajectory of this epidemic.
04:39 And we're also working hand in hand, Elton and I are working the phones all the time,
04:42 talking to the politicians, saying, "You've got to keep your foot on the accelerator too. We have to do it together."
04:47 The American government started PEPFAR under George Bush and the Republican administration,
04:51 and it changed the whole face of AIDS and the treatment and how we approached it and how we can stop it.
04:58 It's been a phenomenal success, and we just have to keep on with the politicians, say, "Please don't cut back on it. Please don't cut back on it."
05:04 We've come so far so quickly. If you cut back on it, we're going to lose this.
05:09 And we can't. We cannot.