Cardi B, A$AP Rocky and more support Rihanna's Diamond Ball

Like many kids, Rihanna dreamed of someday growing up to be rich, but helping others was at the forefront of her vision.

"It's always been important to me before any success," she told The Associated Press Thursday at her annual Diamond Ball charity gala. "As a kid, just seeing those commercials on television with the kids in Africa where it's like, 'it just takes 10 cent or 25 cents to help somebody,' . I used to think, 'When I grow up, I'm a gonna be rich and I'm going to make a lot of money and I could make a lot of 10 cents and a lot of 25 cents.'"

She's made a lot more than that as superstar singer and now fashion and beauty mogul, and with her Clara Lionel Foundation has doled out money around the globe to help support education programs, women's health and emergency response organizations for people in need.

Rihanna attends the 5th annual Diamond Ball benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

The foundation named after Rihanna's grandparents raised more than $5 million Thursday night. Cardi B and Offset, A$AP Rocky, Karlie Kloss, DJ Khaled, 21 Savage, Pharrell Williams and others came out to support the glittering charity dinner, which even featured an impromptu performance by Rihanna and Williams.

"I'm a fan of her energy. She has a beautiful soul," DJ Khaled said before entering the event at Cipriani's in downtown Manhattan with his pregnant wife. "In my book, she keeps it mad real . It's just a beautiful day, we're putting beautiful energy out there."

It was the second all-star event Rihanna staged this week. Khaled, Halsey and more turned out for her New York Fashion Week show on Tuesday, an extravaganza for her lingerie line Savage X Fenty that featured musical performances along with a catwalk.

Cardi B attends the 5th annual Diamond Ball benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

The star wowed on the red carpet dressed in a black velvet turtleneck dress with a flared skirt.

"Just glam. She's so glamorous, she's so gorgeous. Anytime I think of Rihanna, I just think of just glam," said rapper Megan Thee Stallion.

Rihanna told the crowd she was "humbled" by the support for Clara Lionel, and noted that her grandmother Clara Brathwaite, who died seven years ago, would tell her helping others is "about the collective joining forces."

Alexi Ashe and Seth Meyers attend the 5th annual Diamond Ball benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

She told the AP her connection to her grandparents makes the event a sentimental one.

"So these things get really personal, emotional, and I just want to expand this every year to a different cause because I don't feel like people deserve to be left out and that that's really the core of the foundation," she said.

Inside the event, which started two hours late and was hosted by Seth Meyers, stars mingled in a hall that was decorated with a tropical, colorful motif. A$AP Rocky, recently freed after a legal battle in Sweden that saw him behind bars there for weeks, held court at one table as he chatted with 2 Chainz and others; Cardi B bid a very exact $109,000 for a rare copy of a book on Rihanna, along with a two-thousand pound marble stand designed to hold it.

Karlie Kloss attends the 5th annual Diamond Ball benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

The night was not without some controversy: One of the honorees, activist and journalist Shaun King, has been accused of mishandling money he claims he's received for various causes he supports. The Clara Lionel Foundation was almost immediately met with backlash after it was announced King would be a Diamond Ball honoree, forcing King to release a 72-page report in an attempt to defend himself against the allegations.

The foundation's executive director stood by the decision to honor King, who has been a supporter of Clara Lionel.

"We decided to honor Shaun King for a reason, and we decided to honor Shaun King for that same reason tonight," said Justine Lucas, executive director of the foundation.

Normani attends the 5th annual Diamond Ball benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

King, who defended himself on Twitter just before the event, did not address the allegations as he accepted his honor, instead imploring the crowd to work harder to fight injustice: "It's not good enough to have good intentions."

Cardi B stood up for King just before the event.

"One of the main reasons why is so important for me to be here is because Rihanna is honoring Shaun King. A lot of people need to follow Shaun King on Instagram. He protests so much for all minorities, he protests so much for the whole entire world," said the Grammy-award winning rapper.

Pharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh attend the 5th annual Diamond Ball benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

Also honored was Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, where Rihanna was born. Mottley is the first woman to ascend to the position, and Rihanna personally presented her with an award.

Mottley said no matter how global Rihanna is, she always brings Barbados with her.

"Rihanna is one of our citizens of whom we are very, very proud," Mottley said. "When you come from 166 square miles and you can produce people who make a global impact, it gives your heart a certain amount of warmth."

Paula Patton attends the 5th annual Diamond Ball benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

AP Entertainment Writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody contributed to this report.

2 Chainz attends the 5th annual Diamond Ball benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

A$AP Rocky attends the 5th annual Diamond Ball benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

Nicole Tuck and DJ Khaled attend the 5th annual Diamond Ball benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

Rihanna attends the 5th annual Diamond Ball benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space, calling it “a dirty spectacle” that cherry picks weapons of mass destruction from all other weapons that should also be banned.

The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 13 in favor, Russia opposed and China abstaining.

The resolution would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, as banned under a 1967 international treaty that included the U.S. and Russia, and to agree to the need to verify compliance.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote that Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space.

“Today’s veto begs the question: Why? Why, if you are following the rules, would you not support a resolution that reaffirms them? What could you possibly be hiding,” she asked. “It’s baffling. And it’s a shame.”

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia dismissed the resolution as “absolutely absurd and politicized,” and said it didn’t go far enough in banning all types of weapons in space.

Russia and China proposed an amendment to the U.S.-Japan draft that would call on all countries, especially those with major space capabilities, “to prevent for all time the placement of weapons in outer space, and the threat of use of force in outer spaces.”

The vote was 7 countries in favor, 7 against, and one abstention and the amendment was defeated because it failed to get the minimum 9 “yes” votes required for adoption.

The U.S. opposed the amendment, and after the vote Nebenzia addressed the U.S. ambassador saying: “We want a ban on the placement of weapons of any kind in outer space, not just WMDs (weapons of mass destruction). But you don’t want that. And let me ask you that very same question. Why?”

He said much of the U.S. and Japan’s actions become clear “if we recall that the U.S. and their allies announced some time ago plans to place weapons … in outer space.”

Nebenzia accused the U.S. of blocking a Russian-Chinese proposal since 2008 for a treaty against putting weapons in outer space.

Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia of undermining global treaties to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, irresponsibly invoking “dangerous nuclear rhetoric,” walking away from several of its arms control obligations, and refusing to engage “in substantive discussions around arms control or risk reduction.”

She called Wednesday’s vote “a real missed opportunity to rebuild much-needed trust in existing arms control obligations.”

Thomas-Greenfield’s announcement of the resolution on March 18 followed White House confirmation in February that Russia has obtained a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon capability, although such a weapon is not operational yet.

Putin declared later that Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, claiming that the country has only developed space capabilities similar to those of the U.S.

Thomas-Greenfield said before the vote that the world is just beginning to understand “the catastrophic ramifications of a nuclear explosion in space.”

It could destroy “thousands of satellites operated by countries and companies around the world — and wipe out the vital communications, scientific, meteorological, agricultural, commercial, and national security services we all depend on,” she said.

The defeated draft resolution said “the prevention of an arms race in outer space would avert a grave danger for international peace and security.” It would have urged all countries carrying out activities in exploring and using outer space to comply with international law and the U.N. Charter.

The draft would have affirmed that countries that ratified the 1967 Outer Space Treaty must comply with their obligations not to put in orbit around the Earth “any objects” with weapons of mass destruction, or install them “on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space.”

The treaty, ratified by some 114 countries, including the U.S. and Russia, prohibits the deployment of “nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction” in orbit or the stationing of “weapons in outer space in any other manner.”

The draft resolution emphasized “the necessity of further measures, including political commitments and legally binding instruments, with appropriate and effective provisions for verification, to prevent an arms race in outer space in all its aspects.”

It reiterated that the U.N. Conference on Disarmament, based in Geneva, has the primary responsibility to negotiate agreements on preventing an arms race in outer space.

The 65-nation body has achieved few results and has largely devolved into a venue for countries to voice criticism of others’ weapons programs or defend their own. The draft resolution would have urged the conference “to adopt and implement a balanced and comprehensive program of work.”

At the March council meeting where the U.S.-Japan initiative was launched, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned that “geopolitical tensions and mistrust have escalated the risk of nuclear warfare to its highest point in decades.”

He said the movie “Oppenheimer” about Robert Oppenheimer, who directed the U.S. project during World War II that developed the atomic bomb, “brought the harsh reality of nuclear doomsday to vivid life for millions around the world.”

“Humanity cannot survive a sequel to Oppenheimer,” the U.N. chief said.

United States Ambassador and Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield addresses members of the U.N. Security Council before voting during a meeting on Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

FILE - U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Tokyo. The U.N. Security Council is set to vote Wednesday, April 24, 2024, on a resolution announced by Thomas-Greenfield, calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space. It is likely to be vetoed by Russia. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool, File)