It was Real Housewife meets Real Life hero.
Ramona Singer, who attended the Daniel Penny Gala on Friday night, was heckled when she took to social mediaand posted a snap with the man of the hour — captioning it, “So proud Daniel Penny !! #apennysaved #hero.”
Fools online called the image “foul” and blasted Singer for posing with Penny — with one writing, “Even for you this is LOW.”
Someone else chimed in, “Proud of what exactly? He murdered a homeless man! You are shameless.”
Whoever these half-wits are, they clearly did not follow a lick of Penny’s sensational trial — in which he was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide.
Furthermore, if they found themselves in danger’s way, they’d be lucky to have a selfless dude like Penny around.
So count me in on Singer’s assessment. Penny is a true protector.
I sat in the courtroom throughout his month-long trial last year and watched as New Yorkers of all ages and races testified to the unholy terror they felt as Jordan Neely, a mentally ill drug addict with a history of assault, lunged toward passengers and ranted that he wanted to kill.
The trial exposed the dysfunction of our city and the cowardice of pols, who allowed homelessness and dangerous mental illness to fester. It also showed the unquenchable appetite to insert a racial narrative where there was none.
But the woke fever broke and both justice and common sense prevailed. It was a win for Penny but also for New Yorkers.
On Friday, supporters of the Long Island native gathered at Manhattan’s Union League Club for Penny’s first-ever namesake gala, which was put on by his crack legal team, led by Steven Raiser and Thomas Kenniff.
It was a chance for Penny to thank his supporters, and the three hope to make it an annual event that will raise money to help the mentally ill in New York.
The dark wood room was filled with local power players devoted to bringing order back to the Big Apple, including former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly. Former Dem Governor David Paterson charmed the crowd during a brief speech and Republicans Curtis Sliwa and Andrew Giuliani were on hand as well.
And of course, Singer.
For Penny, who is a Marine Corps veteran, it was a night of gratitude.
“New Yorkers are the reason I enlisted in the first place,” he said during a short but heartfelt speech. “The response to the attacks on the World Trade Center is inspiring. Strangers sacrificing everything to help strangers. I admired and looked up to those who dedicated their lives to the service of others. That’s the New York I grew up in.”
But when he was facing trial for the death of Neely, Penny said, he was moved by the support he received from complete strangers who had nothing to gain and, in many cases, a lot to lose.
For that, he was “humbled and thankful,” a sentiment he extended to his legal team, as well as his parents, sisters and girlfriend — who, he said, “who lost friends and stood up for me.”
He also thanked his new employers, Marc Andreessen, David Ulevitch and Ben Horowitz of the a16z venture capitalism firm, for giving him a shot and allowing him to move forward with his life.
Judge Jeanine Pirro, who was meant to co-host the event with 77 WABC’s Sid Rosenberg, missed it after President Trump announced her appointment as the interim US Attorney for Washington, DC.
She sent a voice message that drew applause when she compared Penny to the stoics of ancient Greece.
There is no better way to describe the media-shy surfer dude. When I got a few minutes to chat with Penny and shake his hand, he expressed gratitude for my support and noted that the courtroom seats for the media — essentially wooden church pews — looked supremely uncomfortable.
But his seat was, undoubtedly, the least hospitable in the house. And to get there every day, he walked by heckling protesters and news cameras, without betraying a single emotion.
Penny didn’t seem to think he deserved much praise for that, but I still marvel over his superhuman poise and strength.
On Friday night, he was much lighter and more charismatic, albeit overwhelmed with the attention.
From how I see it, Penny is an old-fashioned hero: He doesn’t want the praise or the spotlight. He just wanted to help when called.