The online grumblings that began when Amazon chief Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez were announced as lead sponsors of the Met Ball — and the exhibition it celebrates — grew louder when organizers conspicuously omitted the glamorous spring event’s primary backers while unveiling the A-list guest roster and the 2026 theme. Now, that anger has swelled into outrage, fueling a protest movement that brought a wave of guerrilla-style art to New York’s subways this week.
On May 4 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the famous and the wealthy will walk the year’s biggest red carpet, posing for a barrage of paparazzi photos destined to dominate online discourse for days, if not weeks. Dubbed “the party of the year,” the gala is expected to draw the likes of Beyoncé, Rihanna and other A-listers, as organizers tout this year’s “fashion is art” theme. Also in attendance: the Amazon founder and his new wife, whose financial backing helped underwrite the affair. The couple is expected to join longtime Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour atop the museum steps, greeting arriving guests. They have been named honorary chairs of the event.
Wintour attempted to quell the backlash over the couple’s ascent to the Met Ball dais, appearing on CNN but only adding fuel to the fire. “Lauren Sánchez is a great lover of costume and, obviously, of fashion,” she said, adding, “We’re very grateful for her incredible generosity.”
While the February announcement made no mention of the couple or their financial contributions, savvy readers and online sleuths — many expressing contempt and disillusionment over one of the world’s wealthiest men, and a perceived Trump ally, effectively buying his way into a major fashion event at a public institution — were quick to connect the dots, intensifying a growing backlash against the newly married billionaire pair.
With the Met Ball just weeks away, that backlash has spilled onto the city’s streets — or more precisely, its subways — where DIY posters have begun appearing. The ads, plastered over paid placements and circulating widely on Instagram, take aim at Amazon’s warehouse and delivery labor practices, as well as the company’s reported ties to immigration enforcement through Amazon Web Services, its cloud-computing arm.
The spoof ads were created by U.K.-based protest collective, Everyone Hates Elon, and distributed via Google Drive for public use.
“Billionaire Trump supporter Jeff Bezos is chairing the Met Gala, celebrities’ biggest night. His company literally helps ICE. WTF @metmuseum?” reads one Instagram caption. “Don’t let him hide behind the glamour while the world burns. Join the campaign and get free stickers. Link in bio.”
Emails sent to Bezos on the growing protest by The Hollywood Reporter were not immediately returned on Friday afternoon.
