Hollywood Reporter Sets ‘Raising Our Voices’ Event With Keynote Speaker Taika Waititi, Honorees Eva Longoria and Niecy Nash-Betts

The May 31 luncheon will bring together influential and inspiring executives, storytellers and thought leaders to focus on the state and future of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in Hollywood.

Taika Waititi has been set as the featured speaker for The Hollywood Reporter’s second annual “Raising Our Voices” lunch, which will take place at the Audrey Irmas Pavilion on May 31. 

In addition, Eva Longoria and Niecy Nash-Betts will be honored as 2023 Trailblazers at the event, which will bring together the industry’s most influential and inspiring executives, storytellers and thought leaders to focus on the state and future of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in Hollywood.

In addition to delivering the keynote, Waititi will also appear on the cover of the May 31 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Waititi is an Academy Award-winning screenwriter for Jojo Rabbit and an Emmy-nominated television producer for What We Do in the Shadows and director on The Mandalorian, for which he also receive an Emmy nom for best character voice-over performance. His next feature, Next Goal Wins, is slated for release in the fall by Searchlight Pictures.

Meanwhile, Longoria and Nash-Betts will be feted for their commitment to telling stories that center diversity, equity and inclusion. Actor-director-producer Longoria has Flamin’ Hot, her feature-directing debut, releasing June 9 on Hulu and Disney+, in addition to her current CNN series Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico. Actor-producer Nash-Betts’ recent credits include The Rookie: Feds and Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. 

The event coincides with publication of The Hollywood Reporter’s Forces for Change Power List. The 2023 list, which includes Waititi and Longoria, is an annual recognition of individuals in entertainment whose work directly impacts and creates jobs and opportunities for artists, executives and others from historically underrepresented communities.

“This year’s ‘Raising Our Voices’ event and special issue are powerful extensions of the incredible coverage we lead every day of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in entertainment,” says Nekesa Mumbi Moody, editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter. “We are thrilled to spotlight Taika, Eva and Niecy, as they each represent the changing landscape of Hollywood and the goal of working toward a more fair and equitable playing field for all creatives in the industry.”

Additional programming, panelists and other speakers will be announced at a later date.

The event will be sponsored by the Golden Globes.