Protesters chant outside the Met Gala in response to Jeff Bezos’ participation in fashion’s biggest night

With all the action on the Met Gala carpet, there was a lot going on just outside the entrance.

Halfway through the stream of stars strutting down the famous subway steps, one protester nearly hit the carpet and approached the photographer’s pit before being tackled by several police officers. The protesters’ banners were also snatched from their hands and thrown behind a barrier.

This year’s gala faced a lot of public objection due to the participation of Jeff Bezos, as he and his wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, serve as honorary chairs for the evening as well as sponsors of the accompanying spring Fashion Institute exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Critics accused the billionaire of buying influence through the big event, and there was speculation that some stars might boycott the event because of his participation. Bezos himself did not walk the carpet at the event, and Sanchez-Bezos walked down the steps alone.

Many other protests also took place away from the entrance to the Metropolitan Museum, where demonstrators gathered holding signs reading “Billionaires for a Dead Planet,” “Tax the Rich,” and “With Billionaires in Power, the President of the United States is a Pedophile, Rapist, and Traitor.” New York Times She also reported that before the event, activists with the group Everybody Hates Elon left 300 bottles of fake urine at the museum — a reference to reports from Amazon employees that they had to go to the bathroom in water bottles while at work.

The 2026 Met Gala will be chaired by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour under the theme “The Art of Fashion,” which “examines the centrality of the clothed body across time and culture, comparing clothing and artwork from across the museum’s extensive collection to create pairings that highlight the indivisible relationship between clothing and the body,” according to The Met.

See all the celebrity looks here, and follow everything Hollywood ReporterMet Gala coverage here.

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