Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, the reigning champions of Hollywood power couples, met up with another champion at the UNICEF charity ball in Los Angeles. Former heavyweight boxing champ Muhammad Ali made a rare appearance, and Brangelina paid due homage.
The star-studded event at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel also drew such Hollywood heavyweights as George Clooney, 48, and his new girlfriend, Italian beauty, Elisabetta Canalis, 31.
Also on hand were Matt Damon, Joan Collins and Cindy Crawford. It was a couple’s night out.
Pitt, 46, and Jolie, 34, shared a shared a table with Clooney, Damon and his wife Luciana Barroso and Bruce Willis and his wife Emma Heming. Larry David and producer Jerry Weintraub, a UNICEF Humanitarian Award honoree, were also seated.
Singers Tony Bennett, Frankie Valli and Paul Anka provided the entertainment, including Anka’s ribald roasting of Weintraub with saucy re-write of the classic Frank Sinatra song, “My Way.”
Although they were surrounded by star power, Angelina and Brad were more enamored by Ali, who won an Olympic Gold Medal in boxing in the 1960s and then went on to a storied career as a professional.
At the height of his career, Ali became a political activist and refused to be drafted into the Army, which led to his suspension from boxing for three years. He converted to Islam and changed his given name Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali.
Angelina stroked Ali’s chest and gave him a pecked on the cheek. “Ali was loving all the attention and seemed taken by Angelina too,” one eyewitness said.
Ali, 67, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, is unable to speak and has difficulty moving. But he looked sharp in his tuxedo.
Jolie and Pitt have had a rough go in the tabloids recently because of a new unauthorized biography that describes their relationship as a nightmare filled with “irreparable tensions.”
But the unmarried pair, who are raising six children, showed plenty of affection toward each other at the event.
Angelina affectionately ruffled Brad’s hair at one point, causing him to break out in a big smile, according to the UK’s Daily Mirror.
Jolie is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, as is Clooney and other stars. She volunteers on behalf of refuges in war-torn Third World countries.
The ball honored individuals who made key contributions to UNICEF’s mission to improve children’s lives.
Quite possibly my three most admired people in the world. What a GREAT photo! I wish I been there to have a drink with 3 remarkable people. (and I’m glad Angeline is having so much fun.
Wish this couple and kids,” A Merry Christmas and Adv Happy New Year”, Both are genuinely good person inside and out. no need to prove the world how good they are and both decent people. Care to those in needs. May they continue supporting the needy, oppress in this planet. We believe in them, for they show the world hatred, ruined peace. We all need love,to avoid war. We, that believe in your cause, support you. God Bless you a thousand fold.
CINEMA… CINEMA… CINEMA
the message is :
Look at me ! I AM ANGELINA JOLIE… I love black people…
I AM NOT RACIST…
I don’t love Barack Obama… But I love Mohamed Ali…
Look ! I AM NOT AFRAID… I touch his face…
Bless me ! I AM A SAINT…
GIVE AN OSCAR !!! Please, Please…
LOVE THEM LOVE THEM LOVE THEM! Brad and Angelina are truly inspiring. I am glad that Angelina gave Ali his props, because she acted just like the rest of us would act if we had the honor of meeting the greatest most charasmatic boxer of all time…we would have been just as giddy as she was. She was genuinely excited to see him, and I appreciate her candor. Others were probably embarrassed to show how much they loved him, but Angie dived right in for the hug. GO ANGIE! I know she and Brad supported Ali and his wife in 2005, so I’m sure they know who they are. I have a lot of admiration for the charity work done by Brad and Angie, and i hope God blesses them to continue it.
There are very few people who care about what is happening on the other side of the world and Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt must commended for their enormous outpour of love and financial support. There are those who want to portray Angelina has the biggest biatch on this planet but man, does she have a heart. And guess what? She won Brad’s, the better woman got him to be her significant other to go and take care of others and each other. By the look on Muhammad Ali’s face, he saw it too.
Angelina and Ali and his wife have been friends for years. Ali’s wife has praised Angelina for her help in getting the Muhammed Ali Center started in 2005 with her major financial support. Also Angelina is a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR – UN High Commission for Refugees – not UNICEF. She has been working with them, lobbying on their behalf to increase their funding and get related legislation passed and traveling the world to visit refugee camps since 2001.