The opening night of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art brought a high‑profile crowd and a sharp public rebuke over labor demands. George Lucas and co‑founder Mellody Hobson led the gala as Hollywood figures and corporate executives gathered at the new museum.
Mellody Hobson addressed guests and recounted her husband’s anxiety about attendance, saying George kept asking whether people would come. Lucas told the audience he believes people decide what art is, a remark that drew applause.
Guests heard remarks from Queen Latifah and watched a drone show that featured Lucas’ characters and other cultural images. TMZ reported that Oprah Winfrey and Samuel L. Jackson narrated the drone presentation and that performers included Doja Cat at the event.
High‑profile attendees included Star Wars veterans Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, filmmakers and studio executives, and leading tech and media CEOs. Architect Ma Yansong used his remarks to reject a popular spaceship narrative about the building’s design.
Protest And Worker Demands
Outside the museum dozens of demonstrators with the Fair Games Coalition staged a costumed protest calling for stronger worker protections ahead of the Los Angeles Olympic planning. The coalition, represented by director Jessica Durrum, called for union and living wage jobs and other guarantees for major events.
Protesters wore Jedi robes and Jar Jar Binks masks, carried lightsabers and chanted Si se puede, according to the group. The coalition seeks funding for 50,000 units of housing for working families, a moratorium on short‑term rentals and protections for immigrant workers.
Unite Here Local 11 member Gladys Avyla, who cleans at a Hollywood hotel, said rising rents forced her to move to Victorville and called for a wage increase for Olympics‑related work. The Rev. Gary Bernard Williams warned that little money would trickle down to the workers who need it most.
The coalition linked the demonstration to Mellody Hobson’s recent resignation from the LA28 Olympics organizing committee, saying Hobson stepped down after requests to meet. LA28 and the Lucas Museum did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the protesters said.
Organizers cited recent bargaining during this year’s World Cup as an example of leverage. Pastor Bridie Roberts of Unite Here Local 11 said the Fair Games Coalition’s support helped secure a tentative agreement days before the first match, showing how coordinated pressure can produce outcomes.
