From The San Francisco Standard · · 2m
Jensen Huang's Resignation Shakes San Francisco Opera
Jensen Huang resigned from Nvidia after affair rumors, but San Francisco Opera proceeds with its annual event.
In brief
Jensen Huang resigned from Nvidia after affair rumors, but San Francisco Opera proceeds with its annual event. Jensen Huang resigned from Nvidia following allegations of affairs with a Chinese agent and a direct report, but the SF Opera held its annual Opera Ball without him. Originally reported by The San Francisco…
Jensen Huang's Resignation
Jensen Huang resigned from Nvidia after revelations of affairs with a suspected Chinese agent and a direct report.
“Jensen resigned from Nvidia in disgrace Thursday, following revelations that he’d had an affair with a suspected Chinese agent, Alice Huang, as well as with a direct report, Nvidia vice president of healthcare Kimberly Powell .”
SF Opera Hosts Event
The SF Opera hosted a private showing of 'The Marriage of Figaro' for AI leaders two weeks ago.
“As recently as two weeks ago, Jensen and Lori Huang were the darlings of the SF Opera. On election night, the couple, who in 2025 made a $5 million-per-year commitment to the opera, hosted a private showing of the current offering, "The Marriage of Figaro," for some of the biggest names in AI.”
Huang's Family Reaction
Jensen's family spent the evening at his Pacific Heights mansion with friends and family.
“According to some intrepid reporting by the Daily Mail, Jensen’s family and friends spent the evening holed up in his Pacific Heights mansion with friends and family, ordering in from Proposition Chicken on California Street.”
Truncated Opera Ball
The SF Opera Ball was shortened due to a musicians strike and lacked a full-length opera performance.
“This year’s ball was a truncated affair, without the usual full-length opera performance. The event had been pushed back two months after a musicians strike.”
Opera Ball Details
The event featured giant bronze mirrors dripping in ivy and bright-pink female busts.
“But the team behind the evening still managed to transform the City Hall rotunda into a resplendent scene, complete with giant bronze mirrors dripping in ivy and bright-pink female busts.”
Society Attendees
Society figures attended the Opera Ball including Dede Wilsey, Penny Coulter, and Nancy Pelosi.
“The Waggle noted opera benefactor extraordinaire Dede Wilsey ; SF Chief of Protocol Penny Coulter ; Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis and her husband, Markos Kounalakis ; philanthropists Maria Manetti Shrem and Dagmar Dolby ; and outgoing U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, whom Opera CEO Matthew Spivey thanked for her "deep devotion to the opera and the arts in San Francisco."”
Greece's First Lady
Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis, the first lady of Greece, attended the Opera Ball.
“In a surprising twist, Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis, the first lady of Greece, was present and also received a shout-out from Spivey in his speech.”
Huang News Passe
Rumors of Jensen's affairs were old news to the well-connected crowd.
“After dinner, several people approached by The Waggle deemed the Huang news a bit passe, even though it was only hours old. That may be because, to this well-connected crowd, rumors of Jensen’s affairs were old news: Two people said that they’d been hearing of his extracurricular activities for months.”
Zoe Kazan and Florence Pugh
Zoe Kazan and Florence Pugh discussed their Netflix adaptation of 'East of Eden' at a City Arts & Lectures event.
“Speaking of catastrophic affairs, screenwriter Zoe Kazan and actor Florence Pugh stopped by San Francisco Thursday night for a City Arts & Lectures and SFFILM conversation about their new Netflix adaptation of "East of Eden."”
Steinbeck Adaptation
Kazan described the Netflix adaptation of 'East of Eden' as having a 'Carrie' vibe in its second episode.
“The second episode is kind of like "Carrie." ... The fourth is like "Notorious." ... The last episode is like "Boogie Nights,"”
Steinbeck Award
Kazan and Pugh accepted the John Steinbeck Award at the event.
“The pair accepted the John Steinbeck Award, presented by the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at San José State University, essentially metal statues in the shape of the writer’s face.”
Pugh's Performance
Pugh's performance earned repeated praise and Kazan called her a 'genius.'
“Pugh’s performance earned repeated praise. As the pair embraced and received a standing ovation, Kazan called the actor a "genius."”
Mayor Lurie's Illness
San Francisco Mayor Lurie announced he was sick during a Pacific Heights meeting.
“That was certainly true of the historic Flood Mansion on Thursday night, where the San Francisco mayor, fresh off his "Dan-slide" election night, walked into the annual Pacific Heights Residence Association meeting, shook the hand of an adoring citizen, then announced into the microphone that he was sick.”
PHRA Meeting
The Pacific Heights Residence Association met to discuss neighborhood issues.
“After 10 minutes of Lurie telling the audience why San Francisco is so back, PHRA board president Paul Wermer said the mayor had to leave, and the audience visibly deflated.”
Grindr Event
Grindr held a party promoting its new AI-powered premium service.
“The Waggle wasn’t sure what to expect from the press-only Grindr cocktail hour Wednesday: Random hookups? Dark rooms? What we found instead at the 1 Hotel on the Embarcadero was perhaps the most buttoned-up gay party of the year.”
Grindr's AI Feature
Grindr's new service uses AI to summarize past matches.
“The most useful feature is the AI summary of users you’ve previously matched with, so you don’t embarrass yourself by forgetting your previous hookups.”
The one thing
Jensen Huang resigned from Nvidia following allegations of affairs with a Chinese agent and a direct report, but the SF Opera held its annual Opera Ball without him.
