Charlize Theron pops up at champagne-soaked festival, and more stories from the column

Serving more than dinner

Charlize Theron stuns while hosting a benefit for Africa Outreach Project on the opening night of the second annual Malibu Food & Wine Festival. Getty Images for Malibu Food & Wine

Charlize Theron brought plenty of star power to Malibu Food & Wine’s swanky bash at Saddlerock Ranch, held in support of her Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project.

The Oscar winner  (above) looked knockout in a white pantsuit as guests sipped and bid on bottles with winemaker Baron Ziegler, who offered up reserve magnums and an absurdly luxe prize: He’d personally fund  the winner’s airfare and fly in a private sommelier. Chef Marcel Vigneron offered to cook a private  dinner to pair with the vino, while Anthony Villegas of the Meat Cellar threw in premium tomahawk steaks.

Ziegler, a dad to five  daughters, got sentimental, saying Theron’s mission — including her  work addressing violence against  women — deeply moved him.

Bollywood superstar gets a little me Times

Times Square is rarely a place people go to get away from it all — but it does the trick for Shreya Ghoshal. Ghoshal is one of the most famous singers in India, but has yet to reach Swift-like levels of superstardom in the US, which means she can go to 42nd and Broadway for a little time to herself.

“I was in Times Square very bravely last night,” she told Page Six’s Talia Levy. “I don’t think that is possible back home . . . that’s why I like coming to New York . . . no one will even look at you twice!” She’s here on her Unstoppable tour, and she’s just added 14 dates to the massive global series.

Mouse in thirst trap

It’s a murine sign of the times! Page Six has written countless stories about luxury stores and offices getting mice, and standard procedure is for the afflicted establishment to make a swift call to the exterminator. But this is 2026. This time we got a tip that a trendy Soho boutique found a furry intruder . . . and, rather than putting out traps, they turned it into an influencer.

When a web-based reality TV show, “Fishtank,” became a hit, its producers — Sam Hyde, Jet Neptune and Benjamin Taylor — decided to open a store nominally to sell merchandise from its stars, creators and collaborators. But, more than anything, the storefront at 93 Canal St. was intended as a place to make even more video for the show. As one insider put it, it’s “basically an open invitation for artists, musicians, etc. to do whatever in there for 24 hours a day,” saying the focus is on “organic events that transpire into real-time content.”

Then one night in early September, livestream viewers noticed a mouse scurry across the floor of the otherwise empty store. Followers started chatting about the rodent and named it “Ratthew,” so the producers put up a camera for it and even put out food to tempt it in front of their lens. 

A family affair

Falu between her husband and son. Courtesy of A-game PR

Struggling to raise a teen? Consider recording an album together. Grammy-winning singer Falu and husband Dr. Gaurav Shah found that working with their 15-year-old son, Nishaad, on their new album “Offering: Ancient and Timeless Chants” came with a side benefit of a little family therapy. “It was so nice to watch. I let go of his wings and let him fly in this album . . . I saw that magic of letting go . . . I didn’t know I could do that as a mother, you know, you always want to hold on to your children,” Falu told Page Six’s Talia Levy. “The roots are from us,” she added of Nishaad’s performance, but “he adds his own style.”

Air craft before takeoff

Even cultural behemoths have to start somewhere. Before “American Idol” became one of the biggest shows on TV, its sets were held together with glue, according to Clay Aiken. The Season 2 runner-up in 2003 recently returned to the show to perform a song from his album, “Rewind,” and told Astra on the Air from “Hollywood Hamilton and the KTU Morning Crew” how the set had changed during his 23-year absence.

He said that in his time, “there were big structural metal pieces and papier-mâché between them” — and there wasn’t even a proper light rig. “They used flashlights!” he quipped.

He won’t be Water’d down

Political correctness has gone mad, says John Waters.  “You can’t say ‘Happy birthday,  Fatso!’ ” he exclaimed at the premiere of the new season of  “American Horror Story.” “The  F-word used to be one thing; now  it’s ‘fat.’ ”

Meanwhile, Waters says he’s great friends with “AHS” hon cho Ryan Murphy. “We’re drawn  to things that maybe repel us and  we can’t understand . . . We both  read a million newspapers a day; I  think we’re current-event hags.”

Who’s the LGBTQueen?

Billie Lourd basks in the glory of adoration from the gay community. Getty Images

Leslie Grossman was livid when Page Six asked her and Billie Lourd who had the bigger gay fan base. “You just pointed at Billie, which I resent, because excuse me? Did you say, ‘Bigger gay fan base’?” Grossman (above) told PageSix.com’s Nicki Gostin on the “American Horror Story: 13” red carpet. “I was Mary Cherry 30 years ago,” she said, referring to her “Popular” character. “I’m her elder!” Lourd then played her cards. “I come from generations of gay icons,” she said, referring to grandmother Debbie Reynolds and mother Carrie Fisher. “I come from a gay family,” she said, bringing up her dad, agent Bryan Lourd, who is married to Bruce Bozzi. “That’s true,” Grossman said. “Having a gay dad is the most gay thing.”

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