Protests and Celebrity Snubs Mar Bezos’s Met Gala

The Met Gala is facing backlash and widespread protests over the decision to name Trump-friendly billionaire Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, as honorary chairmen and financial sponsors for the Monday event.Activist groups have launched aggressive anti-Bezos campaigns across New York City in the weeks leading up to the glitzy annual pageant of celebrity and haute couture, a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A guerrilla activist group called Everyone Hates Elon recently placed some 300 bottles of yellow liquid inside the Met, a pointed jab at reports that Amazon delivery drivers are forced to urinate in bottles to keep up with demanding delivery requirements.The same group projected video interviews with Amazon workers and slogans like “If You Can Buy the Met Gala, You Can Pay More Taxes” onto the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and the Bezoses’ penthouse. Posters demanding “Boycott the Bezos Met Gala” have also blanketed the city’s subways and bus stops.The protests stem from Amazon’s controversial labor practices, Mr. Bezos’s massive wealth, and his perceived pro-Trump tilt in the president’s second term. The billionaire was recently a guest of honor at President Trump’s second inauguration, and Amazon paid $40 million for a documentary about Melania Trump. The controversy has led to high-profile snubs. Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City announced he will skip the event to focus on “affordability and making the most expensive city in the United States affordable,” he told HellGate last month.Actress and activist Cynthia Nixon praised the move. “The Met Gala is now giving Bezos exactly the kind of reputation laundering and cultural rocket fuel he needs to keep destroying America,” she told the New York Times. “My hat is off to the mayor for not attending.”There are also reports of major celebrity absences. Emmy-winning actor and frequent Met Gala star Zendaya will not attend this year. Meanwhile, rumors circulated that Oscar-winner Meryl Streep turned down an invitation to serve as an event cochairman specifically due to Mr. Bezos’s involvement, the Daily Mail reported.Her representative, however, dispelled such speculation. “Meryl has been invited to the Met Gala for many years but has never attended,” said Ms. Streep’s publicist. “While she appreciates Vogue, Anna, and her incredible imagination and stamina, it has never quite been her scene.”The gala will still feature significant star power, with Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams serving as cochairmen. The gala committee will feature singer Sabrina Carpenter, musician Doja Cat, and ballerina Misty Copeland, among others. Television coverage of the red carpet arrivals begins at 6 p.m. EDT on E!In an odd twist, there has been speculation that “The Devil Wears Prada 2” is based on Mr. Bezos and his wife. For one, Mr. Bezos is reportedly considering the acquisition of Condé Nast, the parent company of Vogue. The plot of the new sequel features a prominent tech billionaire attempting to purchase the fictional “Runway” magazine to appoint his girlfriend, played by Emily Blunt, as its new editor-in-chief.

Protests and Celebrity Snubs Mar Bezos’s Met Gala

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