The Shareholder Gala
Where fashion is art and art is...Amazon?
It’s the first Monday in May, and celebrities are descending on the steps of the Met as we speak. This year, that includes co-chairs Beyoncé—who hasn’t attended since 2016—Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, as well as honorary co-chairs and lead sponsors Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez-Bezos, who allegedly paid at least $10 million to host the evening and sponsor its exhibition.
The theme is Costume Art, which celebrates the clothed body. First glances at the exhibition include antique petticoats, ‘90s Alexander McQueen, and lots and lots of Jean Paul Gaultier, from nude-printed bodysuits to the boob-baring suspender dress infamously worn by Madonna.
In a notable shift from prior exhibitions, this year’s offerings are modeled by pregnant, plus-size, and disabled mannequins, all of which have swapped out their faces with mirrors. The idea is “to reflect on your own lived experience, hopefully to create a connection, empathy, compassion towards each other,” curator Andrew Bolton told Vogue. This sentiment is especially important at a time “when humans are being replaced by machines and AI anxiety is pervasive,” noted the publication. Oh, the irony! Will the Bezoses stop and reflect on what’s allowed them to be in the room?
Last November, Amazon announced a $50 billion investment to expand its cloud and AI services for the federal government, including ICE. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security relies on Amazon Web Services as its most commonly used cloud platform. In 2025 alone, U.S. Customs and Border Protection bought $150 million in cloud services from Amazon and Microsoft.
Much of that investment money comes at the expense of Amazon workers, who have peed in water bottles to cut delivery times and died due to unsafe warehouse conditions. Activist group Everybody Hates Elon has humorously brought attention to these matters this Met Gala Monday.
This certainly is not what looking camp in the eye looks like. Yet Amazon may be just the tip of the iceberg: The gala’s sponsorship reportedly extends to deals with OpenAI, Meta, and Snap, all of which have helped raise a record $42 million.
“This is not a show on Amazon. This is not a show on Lauren Sánchez’s dresses. One needs to be really clear that what our donors are supporting is the program of the Met, and the ideas of our curators, and the integrity of the institution,” Max Hollein, the museum’s director and chief executive officer, told CNN. “And they don’t want to have it any other way. That’s exactly the donors that we want, and those are the donors that museums like ours need to have.”
The exhibition, of course, is for everyone to enjoy. Should we be grateful these companies are willing to foot the bill, even if they’re doing so with dirty money?
Activist Cesar Cruz—who notably entered the States undocumented—once said, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”
The level of comfort at the Met Gala has cheapened the meaning. It feels less like a celebration of fashion and more like stooping at an altar for money and relevance. Though fashion has become their next conquest, it seems inevitable that billionaires will lose interest. The passion doesn’t match the profits—even if they’re using betting apps like Polymarket and Kalshi, which currently have $750,000 worth of bets on Met Gala-related markets. (Call it casino couture.)
Word is, Meryl Streep was invited to co-chair this year and passed, citing Bezos’ involvement. Zendaya and Bella Hadid won’t be attending either, and Lady Gaga’s name has yet to be confirmed anywhere. I’m curious to see what tonight unfolds, and more importantly, what conversations come out of it.
While you’re here, I encourage you to divest from Amazon and any other company putting profits above people. When money lubricates our values, we’re all fucked.
Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts on this year’s Met Gala.
If you’re planning on seeing the Devil Wears Prada sequel, check out my story about the exclusive Vogue cover. Or, read about my quest for Madonna arms. Shop the pain away with these 100+ designer finds under $100.
See the full BDS boycott list here.