In the streets and subways of New York, posters call for a boycott of the Met Gala. The gala is scheduled to take place on May fourth. The reason for this is Jeff Bezos’ involvement in the organization.
The choice of the Amazon founder and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos as sponsors and honorary chairmen was “a total lack of tact”. This is what a spokesman for the Everyone Hates Elon collective, which is behind the campaign, complains about. Bezos has recently become closer to Donald Trump.
One of the motifs shows a bottle filled with urine on a red carpet. The company had admitted that some of its drivers were sometimes forced to urinate in bottles due to a lack of toilets.
Another poster depicts Bezos in a U.S. Immigration Enforcement (ICE) uniform. Amazon’s cloud computing subsidiary has a contract with ICE.
Further actions planned
‘Everyone Hates Elon’ was founded in the UK in 2025 to oppose Elon Musk’s far-right rhetoric. The collective “also targets other billionaires,” explains the group’s spokesman, who wishes to remain anonymous.
The activists unfurled a banner at Bezos’ wedding in Venice that called on him to “pay more taxes.” They also hung a photo of the former Prince Andrew in the Louvre. He was charged because of his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The group says it has received more than £14,000 to fund its New York campaign. “Almost 1,000 people donated, on average around ten pounds,” said the spokesperson.
“It’s people from all over the world who are angry. They’re ordinary people who want to do something concrete. They want to speak out at a time when things can seem really depressing,” she estimates. “I think this speaks to people’s need to stand up to some of those who control our lives.”
Asked by CNN in November about the Bezos couple’s controversial participation in the Met Gala, its chairwoman, fashion icon Anna Wintour, praised Lauren Sanchez Bezos’ “incredible generosity.” Wintour called her a “huge fashion lover.” The 2026 edition will be co-chaired by singer Beyoncé, actress Nicole Kidman and former tennis world number one Venus Williams.
The new socialist mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, will not attend.
The event is funded by the fashion department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is opening an exhibition entitled ‘Costume Art’. The exhibition questions the role of the body and clothing in art history.
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