The Met Gala kicked off last night, complete with pre parties and after parties and protesters flocking the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They could have been fans, it was hard to tell the difference, because these protesters had the same politics as the attendees. Like, literally they all want to tax the rich, they all want socialism, and they all want to take a stand against Israel on behalf of the Jew-hating regime of Gaza.
The protesters were mad that Jeff Bezos and his new plastic-infused wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos were honorary co-hosts of the big ballet pre-fête and left little tiny bottles of urine around near all the exhibits. Okay, it wasn't really pee, but it was yellow and meant to look like pee and was to object to working conditions at Amazon warehouses. They have a point to a certain extent, I mean just recently a guy died on the floor and managers told the workers to just keep working.
Under the banner "Resistance Red Carpet," protesters milled around outside with signs saying Bezos was bad not just for being a billionaire, not just for running Amazon, but for being a little bit palsy-walsy with President Trump. To be fair, these tech CEOs don't care who they have to cozy up to so long as they can build their empires as big as they wish. Protesters declared "f*ck Trump," which was not original. Neither was "war no more" or "f*ck Bezos."
Another one held up a sign reading "your carpet is stained in blood." The thing is though that oxidized blood is the same color as the carpet, so it's not really stained, the blood just kind of blends in with the fibers, no need for a stain-remover or anything. In other words, the guests for sure did not notice the blood. It matches the bottoms of their Louboutins, too. They like it.
Much was made of the first black trans disabled model to walk the red carpet. Aaron Rose Philip was touted as having "made history" just by being there. He's got cerebral palsy, he's in a wheel chair, and the lunatic left would have us believe he's more a woman than Lauren Sanchez Bezos is.
Many women showed up mostly nude. Doechii didn't wear shoes because she's "not scared of the floor," showing that she also doesn't know what the point of shoes are.
The guests were not at all bothered by the "tax the rich" or "trillionaires for Trump" signs. In fact, a bunch of the guests thought they were protesting too! Sarah Paulson (apparently we're supposed to know who that is) wore a dollar bill as a domino mask to call out the "one percent." She herself is worth some $12 million.
Meanwhile, some protesters tried to bum rush the place.
Fashion designer Tom Ford actually had to gallantly protect actress Julianne Moore from a protester. The New York Post said the protester "was arrested just 20 feet or so from the A-listers"! What a commotion! What a thrill for the stars! I'm sure they'll be dining out at Cipriani on that story all week. What would he have done if he got close to Moore? Probably he'd just be confused. Someone should tell these protesters the Met is free for New Yorkers and if they just show up another day they'd be let right in.
Bezos and wife shelled out $10 million to be the honorary co-chairs of the big party and that cash funded both the Museum's Costume Art exhibit and the festivities. Protesters on the steps said if he can afford that he should be paying more taxes. But probably they were just mad they didn't get invited out to any of the tony parties pre or post so they could swirl around in their own finery, clink glasses with Bezos et al, and tell those fat cats their complaints right to their face. To note: Bezos paid $2.7 billion in federal taxes in 2024.
That's undoubtedly what Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez thought she was doing when she wore her designer couture "Tax the Rich" gown to the ball a few years back, only to get caught up in a Congressional ethics probe over accepting a ticket for the elitist hoedown gratis. This year tickets went for $100,000 a pop.
What the protesters don't seem to get is that money the Met doesn't raise for operating costs from donors would have to come from the City of New York somehow. When Bloomberg was mayor he'd just write a check when there was a budget shortfall—but something tells me Mamdani's not planning to shell out any of his personal funds for a mausoleum to western civilization.
The Beyonces were there, Rihanna, Anna Wintour, Venus Williams, Nicole Kidman with daughter in tow, Zoe Kravitz, Bad Bunny who dressed up like an old person, Adrien Brody, Al Sharpton, nearly topless trans model Alex Consani, the Kardashians, Anne Hathaway wore a "peace" dress with a dove on it, and a bunch of other people who I don't know who they are. The point being that they all have the same politics as the people outside, they just have more money.
Protesters and glitterati alike are pro-trans, pro-abortion, anti-Trump, pro-taxing billionaires, pro-government-funded healthcare, anti-Israel, existentially worried about climate change, have all the anti-racist books on their shelves, backed BLM, wore Covid masks, and got all the shots. These are the same ideas just on either side of the velvet rope. The only difference between the two is who got let into the party. The protest is a pantomime just as is the walking of the red carpet.
