Photo via The Metropolitan Museum of Art Press Release
By The New York Times
It is perhaps the world’s most exclusive party, a spectacle of fashion and extravagance that draws a secretive roster of famous people, charges $100,000 a ticket and drapes a carpet down the steps of one of Manhattan’s oldest cultural institutions.
But this year, the Met Gala is facing stiff headwinds, most notably for the decision to name Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and one of the world’s wealthiest men, and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, as honorary chairs.
Opposition to the Bezoses started almost immediately after they were announced as financial sponsors in February, and comes amid a surging anti-rich sentiment nationwide and in New York City, the event’s liberal home. The outrage seemingly gained momentum after the city’s newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, declared in mid-April that he would skip the gala, breaking with many of his predecessors, saying that his focus is on “affordability.”
And in the weeks leading up to the event on Monday, an avid anti-Bezos campaign has erupted on New York’s streets, in subways and online, where social media users have described the event as the “Amazon Prime Gala” or “Bezos Ball.” Reports of skittish stars and upset fashionistas have peppered tabloid pages, including rumors of some past guests steering clear.
