Inside Gold Gala 2026: Jet Li, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Charles Melton, Simu Liu Honored During Glitzy Celebration of API Changemakers

Talent and executives across several forms of media, entertainment and business gathered in downtown Los Angeles Saturday for Gold House’s fifth annual Gold Gala.

The annual gala, held at the Music Center in DTLA, is a celebration of Asian Pacific changemakers across industries. Legendary martial arts actor Jet Li, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Beef star Charles Melton, actor Simu Liu, Olympic gold medalist Eileen Gu and Flex CEO Revathi Advaithi were presented with onstage honors at Saturday’s event.

The evening, previously dubbed the “Asian Met Gala,” had no shortage of stars. Gold House co-founder and CEO brought back his tongue-in-cheek kick-off speech that called out some of the night’s biggest stars in the context of reminding them to get to sit down so the program could begin. The routine elicited laughs amongst the crowd gathered at the venue’s outdoor courtyard and was effective in getting all the chatty guests to find their seats.

Gold Gala’s 2026 onstage program kicked off with remarks from Saturday Night Live alum Bowen Young, whose introduction was part celebration and part roast. The comedian joked with the crowd that he was happy to be a part of the “group audition for Beef season three” — the show’s creator, Lee Sung Jin, was in attendance, later telling the crowd how a Gold House event seating arrangement helped Lee land Melton as season two’s star. He also took a playful dig at Chen, likening the founder’s dating life to the nearby Chinatown neighborhood as they’d both “survived upheaval, disease and gentrification.”

Yang celebrated the API community’s wins — “the Wasians are making music videos together, so cute” — and “failures” — “Eric Nam did not win The Traitors, [and] I’m on track to lose my sixth Emmy.” The comedian pondered if the community had moved past representation and into ownership.

“Ownership of our stories, ownership of our space and ownership of the fact that white women are so bored they need Mahjong more than we do,” Yang continued, met with laughs from the crowd. “I’m obsessed with them, by the way, because you know they say shit like ‘MSG gives me headaches.’”

KPop Demon Hunters star EJAE introduced a video on this year’s entertainment and media honorees from Gold House’s Gold 100 power list. Heated Rivalry breakout Hudson Williams, Grammy award-winning singers Kehlani, Laufey and Lola Young, actress Lola Tung, director Chloe Zhao and girl group KATSEYE were among some of the entertainment figures honored in the video.

Liu was presented with the Gold Mogul honor by filmmakers Destin Daniel Cretton and James Wan. Gu, the most decorated freestyle skier, accepted the Gold Impact honor, which was presented to her by WNBA star Candace Parker and EVP and chief customer officer of Marriott International Peggy Roe. Chopra Jonas received the inaugural Global Vanguard Honor, meanwhile Advaithi, CEO of Flex, received the inaugural Forbes Gold honor.

Melton, who plays Austin in season two of Beef, was presented with the inaugural Gold Artistic Achievement honor by Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The actor joked that he and Randolph became close during the 2025 awards season, in which Randolph swept all awards except one, the award that Melton himself won. He also thanked Lee for his collaboration and friendship.

Li, a legendary martial artist and actor, received the Gold Legend honor award. Maggie Q and Terry Crews were the first to take the stage, introducing Li’s daughter, Jane Li, and the daughter of Bruce Lee, Shannon Lee.

When he took the stage, Li preached about the importance of living a happy and healthy life. He urged those in the crowd to not only take care of their physical health but also their mental health. Li explained that he would continue to help people throughout his life.

Chen returned to the stage to close out the night, delivering an impassioned speech about community and loneliness. He then ushered the crowd into the nearby afterparty with a needle drop and streamer blast to KATSEYE’s “Pinky Up.” Yang seemed the most excited in the crowd by the music choice, performing the girl group’s choreography in his seat as it played.

Take a peek inside the 2026 Gold Gala and the afterparty below.