Helen Mirren Hosts Stuttering Association Gala After Explaining Her Stance on Feminism

Helen Mirren brought a touch of gold to the 2017 Stuttering Association for the Young (SAY) Gala.

The 71-year-old actress hosted the event alongside fellow actress Kelli O’Hara (right) at NYU Skirball Center on Monday (May 22) in New York City.

Also in attendance was Krysta Rodriguez (left). The gala was held to honor film director Jeffrey Blitz and football coach Joe Moglia.

SAY is a national non-profit organization, “which through summer camp, speech therapy, and creative expression empowers, educates, and supports young people who stutter and the world that surrounds them.”

Helen has also recently voiced her support for another powerful issue – feminism.

“I didn’t define myself as a feminist until quite recently, but I had always lived like a feminist and believed in the obvious: that women were as capable and as energetic and as inspiring as men,” she told the crowd during her commencement speech at Tulane University over the weekend. “But to join a movement called feminism seemed too didactic, too political.”

Click inside to hear what else she had to say…

“However, I have come to understand that feminism is not an abstract idea but a necessity if we – and really by ‘we,’ I mean you guys – are to move us forward and not backward into ignorance and fearful jealousy,” she added. “Now, I am a declared feminist. And I would encourage you to be the same.”

Watch the full speech here.