The Time 100 list is not ranked.
Rather, the annual list names 100 tech leaders, activists, actors, musicians and the occasional astronaut — of both the NASA and idle rich varieties — and hails them as the most important people of that year.
Still, there’s something of an unspoken hierarchy on a list that this year includes President Trump, Pope Leo XIV and President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico alongside actors like Zoe Saldaña and Ben Stiller, and scientists and diplomats better known for their groundbreaking work in agriculture and public health than as household names.
This became clear as attendees arrived at the Time 100 Gala on Thursday night. The actor Ethan Hawke and his mother, Leslie Carole Green, Mr. Hawke’s date for the evening, were ushered to the front of the long, snaking line of people waiting to check in. Mr. Hawke demurred at first, but after he was pushed ahead against his objections, he paused to shake the hands of the people he was cutting in line.
Noah Wyle, the medical drama star twice over, most recently in “The Pitt,” arrived soon after and was similarly whisked to the front of the line. He was deposited in front of even Mr. Hawke.
Upstairs, inside the halls of Jazz at Lincoln Center, celebrities like the K-pop singer Jennie and the actress Dakota Johnson walked the red carpet. Or, in the case of Nikki Glaser, an honoree and M.C. for the evening, twirled on it, before heading into cocktail hour for sips of prosecco and small bites.
Freida McFadden and her husband surveyed the scene. Ms. McFadden, a best-selling author and a doctor who treats brain disorders, is also a self-proclaimed member of “generation Spice Girls” and was hoping to meet Victoria Beckham, who she said she had been told was a fan of her writing.
The room was hot and sticky as the crowd filled in. Looking around, it quickly became clear that this was a party full of people who might never have been in the same space otherwise.
The actor Alan Cumming and the actress Claire Danes stood chatting and sipping martinis. (Hers: an olive. His: a twist.) Mr. Cumming declined to say which member of this year’s Time 100 list would fare best on “The Traitors,” the reality show he hosts.
As guests were ushered into the hall for dinner, the actress Keke Palmer said she needed to find a quiet spot to quickly call her son, Leo, before bedtime. She had just met a fascinating scientist, she added.
In the dining room, guests sat down at their tables, in some cases finding their assigned seats next to famous strangers. The singer Coco Jones, who performed two songs during the event, struck up a conversation with the actor Sterling K. Brown, to her left.
At another table, farther from the stage, the musician Anderson .Paak draped his arm around the actress Natasha Lyonne. The sun had set, and the room, overlooking Central Park and the Midtown Manhattan skyline, was dimly lit, but both Ms. Lyonne and Mr. .Paak were wearing sunglasses. Rounding out the table were two influencers, Haley Kalil and Cyrus Veyssi; the reality television star Maura Higgins; the writer Tayari Jones; and the YouTuber known as MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson. (Ms. Kalil filmed and posted TikToks from the table.)
“Your dad tells me you’re a fan,” Mr. Donaldson said into a phone camera, appearing to film a video for the child of another attendee. (This week, a former employee filed a lawsuit against Mr. Donaldson’s company claiming sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination. The company denies the claims.)
During breaks in the programming, Ms. Beckham stopped by Ms. Saldaña’s table to say hello. Rhea Seehorn, star of “Pluribus,” chatted with the Brazilian actor Wagner Moura and discussed wanting to work on a future project together.
It was not all warm and fuzzy between the honorees, though.
Ms. Glaser suggested that the room “drink enough to forget” their unlikely bedfellows on the list.
In a later speech, Mr. Cumming thanked Time for including “people whose values I despise on the list.”
Piers Morgan, seated nearby, did not turn to watch Mr. Cumming speak and did not applaud. (The two had previously beefed over Mr. Cumming’s decision to return his Order of the British Empire in 2023. Mr. Morgan called him a “pathetic, disloyal, attention-seeking little twerp” on Twitter.)
The singer Noah Kahan, an honoree whose sophomore album was to be released at midnight, paused to talk with David Beckham. He asked the soccer star about his favorite goal.
“All the ones against Chelsea,” Mr. Beckham said, poking fun at Mr. Kahan, who is a fan of that particular football club.
Chloe Kim, visibly shaking, gave a sweet speech about the power of community while teetering on sky-high heels beneath a beaded, Barbie-pink dress. Ms. Kim, an Olympic snowboarder who regularly drops into a 22-foot halfpipe and flips through the air, said she wasn’t very fond of public speaking, adding, to cheers, that it was her birthday.
As the evening wound down, the labor activist Dolores Huerta, the oldest honoree, at 96, led the room in call-and-response chants. “Who got the power?” “We got the power!”
Luke Combs, the country singer and an honoree, closed out the evening with a three-song set that got guests on their feet to sway, sing and, mostly, film it with their phones.
Afterward, guests headed back out into the lobby for cocktails, coffee and a strange mix of bites including pineapple coconut bars, lobster rolls and tater tots.
While other, less-hounded honorees were able to exit quickly, Mr. Wyle did not make it more than a few paces from his dinner table before other guests swarmed him to pose for photos.
Madison Malone Kircher is a Times reporter covering internet culture.
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