Colman Domingo Honored at Star-Studded Academy Museum Gala as Taylor Swift Performs

FreddyO

October 20, 2026

Colman Domingo and Taylor Swift posing together at the Academy Museum Gala

Photo: Entertainment Tonight via YouTube (frame grab).

Now this is how you do a Hollywood night. The Sixth Annual Academy Museum Gala took over Los Angeles on Saturday, October 17, and our very own Colman Domingo was one of the night’s big honorees, receiving the Vantage Award for an artist who challenges the stories Hollywood tells and how it tells them.

Domingo was in legendary company. Charlize Theron received the Icon Award, and filmmaker John Carpenter — the genius behind Halloween — took home the Luminary Award. The black-tie fundraiser pulled in more than $14 million for the Academy Museum’s exhibitions, screenings, and education programs, proving once again that this gala has become the Met Gala of the West.

Colman Domingo and Taylor Swift cutting up with John Carpenter at the Academy Museum Gala

Photo: Entertainment Tonight via YouTube (frame grab).

And then there was the music. Taylor Swift performed for the room, introduced by Conan O’Brien, and gave the live debut of “The Fate of Ophelia” — with everybody from Kim Kardashian and Sabrina Carpenter to Demi Moore, Jacob Elordi, A$AP Rocky, and Janelle Monáe in the building to witness it.

Watch the highlights from inside the star-studded night:

Taylor Swift performing with the band at the Academy Museum Gala

Photo: E! News via YouTube (frame grab).

Between the honorees, the surprise performance, and the millions raised for the museum, it was one of those nights that reminds you Hollywood still knows how to show up for its own — and show out while doing it.

For Colman Domingo, the Vantage Award is another jewel in a run that just won’t slow down — from Rustin to Sing Sing to everything he’s got coming next, he keeps choosing roles with something to say. Saturday night, Hollywood said it right back. Congratulations, Colman!