A Reunion for a Cause
Zooey Deschanel, Max Greenfield, Jake Johnson, Lamorne Morris, Hannah Simone and Damon Wayans Jr. came together on Saturday night for a New Girl reunion at the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in Los Angeles. The group received the Rising Phoenix Award, and Greenfield served as host for the evening. The event was organized to support Chrysalis, a Southern California nonprofit that assists individuals in overcoming obstacles on their path to meaningful employment.[S1][S2]
The event was held at The Beehive, where Jared Wolff — chairman and CEO of Banc of California — was presented with the Corporate Trailblazer Award. The John Dillon Award went to Guadalupe Rios, who once took part in Chrysalis programs and now works for Caltrans.[S1]
The Joke That Sparked It All
The get-together happened after fresh momentum built around the idea of bringing New Girl back on screen. Greenfield started that chatter by telling a Today audience, untruthfully, that series creator Liz Meriwether had turned out wonderful scripts for a revival. Meriwether and the show's cast traded jokes about it afterward, and it was made clear that nothing concrete is currently in the works.[S1]
At the event, Deschanel teased the group's award acceptance by thanking Greenfield for announcing an actual New Girl reunion while organizing the evening, which she said made their lives very annoying. Greenfield responded by apologizing for the incident, noting it was probably not the most appropriate time, but added that it accidentally brought a lot of attention to Chrysalis and the work being done that night. He also remarked that when the six actors come together, people pay attention and show up, and expressed gratitude for the support.[S1]
Greenfield and Johnson Reflect
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter at the event, Greenfield — who arranged the whole surprise through the cast's group chat — admitted that rather than announcing it so publicly on national TV, he likely should have simply mentioned a New Girl reunion taking place Oct. 10 to benefit Chrysalis. He said his excitement took over and then a chance for a playful swerve appeared, so he went with, in effect, that instead.[S1]
Johnson wasn't about to let him off lightly, saying Greenfield's handling of it was astonishingly poor. He described a running gag in which he and Morris trade jabs through interviews, but Max missed the cue and earnestly claimed he'd read the scripts and found them excellent, without any punchline or dig. That forced Liz to clarify that her lawyer, not she, had written to him. Johnson called it simply Max being Max, insisted there was no plan behind it, and noted Max later texted admitting he'd botched it — which, Johnson agreed, he had.[S1]
