--- title: Time 100: See the Biggest Moments description: Read about everything that happened at the 2017 TIME 100 gala in New York City canonical: https://time.com/4753419/time-100-gala-biggest-moments/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-26T04:29:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:38:15.768Z og:title: See the TIME 100 Gala's Biggest Moments og:description: From Trevor Noah and Riz Ahmed to life of the party Leslie Jones og:url: https://time.com/4753419/time-100-gala-biggest-moments/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb899f6eabed116dd/6988cab02dce01a1fa9ed322/gettyimages-6730446481.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: 2017 Time 100 Gala - Dinner og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See the TIME 100 Gala's Biggest Moments twitter:description: From Trevor Noah and Riz Ahmed to life of the party Leslie Jones twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb899f6eabed116dd/6988cab02dce01a1fa9ed322/gettyimages-6730446481.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See the Biggest Moments From the TIME 100 Gala > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=cced81ae-61de-4335-b289-af6c1300caf7&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch John Legend Perform at the 2017 TIME 100 Gala [Watch (HLS stream): Watch John Legend Perform at the 2017 TIME 100 Gala](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MvpTzBky.m3u8) (2:34)  _Published 2017-04-26. Watch John Legend perform at the 2017 TIME 100 gala_ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Apr 26, 2017 4:29 AM UTC  NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 25: RuPaul Andre Charles, Megyn Kelly and Leslie Jones attend 2017 Time 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 25, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TIME) NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 25: RuPaul Andre Charles, Megyn Kelly and Leslie Jones attend 2017 Time 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 25, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TIME) Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Apr 26, 2017 4:29 AM UTC You couldn’t take a step at the 2017 TIME 100 Gala without rubbing shoulders with a major player. [Leslie Jones](http://time.com/collection/2017-time-100/4736219/leslie-jones/), [Margot Robbie](http://time.com/collection/2017-time-100/4736220/margot-robbie/), and [Riz Ahmed](http://time.com/collection/2017-time-100/4742708/riz-ahmed/) were just three of the attendees at the 2017 TIME 100 Gala on Tuesday. Between performances from John Legend and Demi Lovato to toasts from Syrian Defense leader [Raed Saleh](http://time.com/collection/2017-time-100/4736289/raed-saleh/) and Viola Davis, it was a night for the books. Here are five of the most unforgettable moments from the event. ### Time 100 Member Demi Lovato performed her hits ### Viola Davis delivered a powerful toast “Everybody in this room, I’m sure at some point, has gone through something in their lives, and you survived it,” Davis said. “But not only did you survive it, you took that trauma, and that hurt, that revelation, or whatever it was, and you used it to connect, to give, to influence, to help, and that is the beauty and the purpose of what we are here on this Earth to do.” ### **John Legend basically performed an** [**entire concert**](http://time.com/4754168/john-legend-perform-time-100-gala/?xid=homepage) **for everyone at the TIME 100 gala** He even worked in a “love you Ava,” shout out to TIME 100 Ava DuVernay member, who also raised a glass to everyone’s inspirational figures. ### Trevor Noah and Riz Ahmed hit it off _The Daily Show’s_ Trevor Noah and _Rogue One’s_ Riz Ahmed became buds.  at the Time 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 25, 2017 in New York City. Landon Nordeman ### Leslie Jones combined superpowers with Ryan Reynolds  NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 25: Leslie Jones and Ryan Reynolds attend 2017 Time 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 25, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TIME) Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIME ## Transcript Can you just stay through the night? [ MUSIC ] Turn down the bed and the blinds. Before you turn around, can you just stay through the night? [ MUSIC ] Lord God only knows what I been without you. [ APPLAUSE ] God only knows What I'd be, without you. God only knows. What I'd be. 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