CELEBRITY STYLE & FASHION NEWSMet Gala 2026 Backlash: Inside the Shift From Fashion to Bezos and Billionaires
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez became the focus of Met Gala backlash.
May 10 2026, Published 5:33 a.m. ET
The Met Gala is designed to celebrate the art of fashion, but this year it became something else entirely. With Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez stepping in as lead sponsors and honorary chairs, the night drew widespread backlash, with critics accusing the billionaire of overshadowing the event itself.
What unfolded wasn’t just a reaction to one sponsor, but a broader shift in how audiences view wealth, influence and cultural institutions.
When Aspiration Turns Into Provocation
Protesters gathered outside the event venue.
“The Met Gala has always been a collision of art, fashion, and extreme wealth. That tension is baked in,” said Amore Philip, founder of Apples and Oranges Public Relations. “But there is a threshold where aspiration tips into provocation.”
In Philip’s view, 2026 marked that tipping point.
The gala shifted from fashion toward billionaire controversy.
“With the economic anxiety most Americans are living with daily, putting Jeff Bezos at the center of the most expensive evening in fashion crossed that line,” she added. “The most enduring luxury brands know this instinctively. You sell the dream without making the audience feel excluded from it. The moment exclusivity reads as contempt, you have lost the cultural contract.”
Protests, Boycotts and a Changed Guest List
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Several celebrities were notably absent.
Ahead of the gala, demonstrators left hundreds of plastic bottles filled with yellow liquid around the Metropolitan Museum of Art, referencing allegations that Amazon workers have been forced to urinate in bottles. “Boycott the Bezos Met Gala” signs appeared across New York City and were projected onto buildings, while protesters gathered outside the event calling for a boycott.
The criticism extended to the guest list. Observers noted the absence of major celebrities, including Lady Gaga, Zendaya and Meryl Streep, while model Bella Hadid signaled support for boycott calls by liking a related social media post. In their place, a wave of tech executives and billionaires, including Mark Zuckerberg and Sergey Brin, walked the carpet, shifting the tone of the evening.
Even the traditional co-chair presentation appeared altered. Anna Wintour and Nicole Kidman stood with Sánchez during the opening, while Beyoncé and Venus Williams arrived later and separately, with Beyoncé skipping the group photo.
The Sponsor Becomes the Message
“What makes the Met Gala uniquely vulnerable is that it wraps itself in the language of art and philanthropy while operating as one of the most transactional evenings in the world,” she said.
“When the sponsor is as polarizing as Bezos, that contradiction becomes impossible to ignore.”
Philip noted that brands tied to the event are “quietly redirecting their narrative back to the collections and away from the sponsor story.”
A Record Night, With Complications
The event still raised a record amount despite the criticism.
Despite the backlash, the event raised a record $42 million for the museum’s Costume Institute. But the cultural response told a more complicated story.
“The luxury industry learned this lesson a long time ago: you cannot separate the messenger from the message,” Philip said. “Who funds the dream is now as important as the dream itself.”
