The Controversy Keeping Celebrities Off the 2026 Met Gala Steps

When the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the 2026 Met Gala theme, hosts, and dress code, organizers wanted fashion onlookers to discuss the question at the heart of the "Costume Art" exhibit: Is fashion art? Instead, social media users have been calling for a boycott against this year's honorary co-chairs, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos.

The second-richest man in the world right now, according to Forbes' real-time billionaire index, and his wife were named to the 2026 Met Gala's organizing group earlier this year, alongside Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams. Bezos has been a presence on the guest list since 2012; he and Sánchez attended together in 2024.

But this year's Met Gala red-carpet invite and corresponding roles as the event's and exhibit's leading patrons have stirred up more controversy at the nexus of income inequality, Amazon's various business dealings, and big tech's role in funding the fashion industry. As celebrities descended upon the Bezos's pre-Met Gala party in New York City on Sunday, May 3, activist groups postered the streets of Manhattan with calls to boycott the gala over Amazon's alleged mistreatment of workers and ties to ICE. Some A-listers have reportedly taken note: Met Gala regular Zendaya and Devil Wears Prada 2 star Meryl Streep are rumored to have declined their invites on account of the event's ties to the Bezos couple.

Deep pockets have always been a necessity for attending and sponsoring the Met Gala. Each year, it aims to raise funds for the Met's Costume Institute, a division of the museum that preserves more than 33,000 historical objects related to fashion. It's an expensive endeavor—one that, in 2026, requires $100,000 for an individual ticket or $350,000 for a company to buy a table inside, per CNN. Those prices have steadily risen in recent years, narrowing the pool of companies that can afford to take part. A decade ago, major luxury fashion houses would be the leading co-sponsors of the Met Gala; today, Bezos's wealth makes him one of the few who can back the event.

Naturally, anyone outside the fashion industry gets sticker shock upon reading those numbers. On the inside, there's a sense that the Met Gala's focus has shifted from celebrating achievements in fashion design (its founding principle) to lauding the ultra-wealthy who can pay up for a spot on the guest list. Criticism of Lauren Sánchez-Bezos particularly focuses on her love of wearing the most expensive clothing money can buy, without necessarily championing the craftsmanship behind it (or good taste, as New York Times columnist Robin Givhan put it). There's also unease at the ethics of fundraising from a company tangled up in several other interests: Is it okay to accept big tech's blank check for funding fashion preservation, when the companies' other endeavors aren't quite as noble?

Galas like the Met's are also not attracting nearly equivalent attention or funding, even when they champion worthy causes. Designer Aurora James noted in her newsletter that funding has dried up for smaller fashion benefits, like the Fifteen Percent Pledge Gala supporting Black-owned businesses, in favor of tabloid-friendly events like the Met Gala. Pair the ever-rising bar to entry with the optics of a glitzy red carpet and backers tied to allegations of workforce abuse, and you have all the makings of this week's firestorm.

In a few hours, the Met Gala red carpet will officially begin. Viewers will see whether protests take shape outside the famed steps, and if any more regulars skip the event to avoid an association with its controversial co-chairs.

If the Costume Institute wants to avoid future discourse, it may have found a way out—by leveraging its wealthy benefactors. According to a recent report in The New York Times, the event has raised enough money to render the Gala unnecessary to the institution's functioning by 2030.