The Met Gala is usually the night where the world’s biggest stars debut their most daring looks, but this year, the drama started long before the first heel touched the red carpet. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez, are officially center stage for the event, and the internet is having a major meltdown over it.
As the Metropolitan Museum of Art prepares for the May festivities, the couple has been named honorary chairs alongside Vogue powerhouse Anna Wintour. While the evening’s theme, “fashion is art,” promises a parade of A-listers like Beyonce and Rihanna, the spotlight is currently fixed on the controversy brewing underneath the city streets.
The Underground Backlash Goes Viral
What began as quiet grumbling on X and Reddit has exploded into a full-blown viral movement. This week, commuters in New York City were met with a series of guerrilla-style spoof ads plastered across subway stations. The DIY posters, created by the U.K.-based collective Everyone Hates Elon, take sharp aim at the billionaire’s involvement in the high-society event.
Images of the posters have quickly migrated to Instagram, where activists are calling out the contrast between the gala’s opulence and Amazon’s corporate practices. One viral caption read: “Billionaire Trump supporter Jeff Bezos is chairing the Met Gala, celebrities’ biggest night. His company literally helps ICE. WTF @metmuseum?”
The campaign has hit a nerve online, with the hashtag MetGalaProtest starting to gain traction. Fans and critics alike are debating whether the “party of the year” should be funded by such polarizing figures, especially given the museum’s status as a public institution.
Anna Wintour Weighs In
As the buzz reached a fever pitch, Anna Wintour attempted to smooth things over during an appearance on CNN. The fashion icon stood by her decision to include the couple on the prestigious gala dais, specifically praising Sanchez’s passion for the industry.
“Lauren Sanchez is a great lover of costume and, obviously, of fashion,” Wintour told the network. She went on to express her appreciation for the couple’s financial support, adding, “We’re very grateful for her incredible generosity.”
However, the interview seemed to have the opposite effect on social media. Many users pointed out that the initial February announcement of the event’s sponsors conspicuously left out the Bezos name, leading “online sleuths” to feel that the partnership was being hidden from the public.
A High-Stakes Red Carpet
Despite the “guerrilla art” appearing on subways and the heated comments sections on Instagram, the show must go on. Bezos and Sanchez are still expected to join Wintour at the top of the museum steps to greet the arriving glitterati.
For the billionaire couple, who recently tied the knot, this gala was meant to be a crowning moment in their ascent to the top of the fashion world’s social hierarchy. Now, they face the challenge of navigating a red carpet that will be under more scrutiny than ever before.
With just weeks to go until the big night, the question remains: will the star-studded glamour of Beyonce and Rihanna be enough to distract from the posters and protests? Or will the Met Gala be remembered as the year the “Amazon effect” finally met its match on the museum steps? One thing is for sure: all eyes will be on the Met this May.
