Florence Welch enjoys 'gay pirate dance'

Florence Welch has joked her dishevelled appearance at an event was the result of "dancing with a gay pirate".

The Florence + The Machine frontwoman addressed an audience of Hollywood''s A-list at the recent Los Angeles County Museum of Art's second annual Art + Film Gala.

The British singer apologised for how she looked and blamed Sir Elton John''s partner David Furnish for her unkempt look.

'You're quite a crowd,' Florence joked to the audience in a report by WWD. 'Forgive me for being so rumpled. I lost a nail last night dancing with a gay pirate, but it was Elton John's husband's birthday, so that's what happens.'

The red-haired beauty went on to perform a soulful set to those in attendance at the swanky ceremony, with Cameron Diaz reportedly gracing the front row.

The crowd, who were there to honour late filmmaker Stanley Kubrick and 74-year-old artist Ed Ruscha, included Leonardo DiCaprio, Diane Keaton, Sean Penn and Salma Hayek.

Presented by Gucci, the $5,000-a-plate benefit dinner also raised more than $3.5 million for charity. Other celebrity support included appearances from Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Cameron Diaz, Robert Pattinson, John Krasinski, Kerry Washington and Jeremy Renner.

Legendary Hollywood actor Jack Nicholson, who worked with Stanley on his movie The Shining, spoke about the renowned filmmaker during the evening.

'The first thought I had when I heard he passed was, 'F**k, I'll never work with him again,''" Jack fondly remembered. "But it was the greatest experience of all time."

After Florence''s dazzling performance the crowd assembled for a late-night viewing of the Kubrick retrospective.