When the inaugural Met Gala was held in 1948, it was primarily a fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. While the event is still very much a fundraiser at its core, it’s fair to say that the night has evolved in the intervening decades. Today, the Met Gala commands a colossal amount of attention, with the internet allowing laypeople all over the world to get a glimpse into the once-exclusive event. As a result, the night has become something of a lightning rod for political protest.

Back in 2018, filmmaker and actor Lena Waithe walked the carpet wearing a Pride flag to champion LGBTQ+ rights; more recently, in 2021, politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez turned up wearing a gown emblazoned with the words “TAX THE RICH”. Outside of the Met itself, in recent years, activists have organised protests to coincide with the event, taking to New York’s streets to champion causes from Palestine to Black Lives Matter.

This year was particularly fraught, largely thanks to the involvement of sinister tech billionaire Jeff Bezos, as the Amazon founder and his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos served as honorary chairs for this year’s gala. The couple’s sponsorship of the event catalysed a wave of anger, with New York mayor Zohran Mamdani going as far as boycotting the event entirely in a show of solidarity with the workers who keep the fashion industry afloat behind the scenes. 

Here are seven political moments you might have missed from the 2026 Met Gala.

THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE AMAZON LABOUR UNION WAS ALLEGEDLY ARRESTED 

Former President of the Amazon Labour Union, Chris Smalls, was allegedly arrested after jumping a barricade at the Met Gala. The NYPD has not confirmed if the 37-year-old man taken into custody was Smalls; however, video footage shared online shows police wrestling Smalls to the ground, as he held up a sign that read: “Amazon refuses to negotiate a contract with its union at JFK 8. It’s been over 1500 days! I spent five days in an Israeli prison because Amazon invests in genocide!!! #FreePalestine.” (HJ)

ACTIVISTS CALLED OUT BEZOS VIA HIS $120 MILLION PENTHOUSE

As night fell before the Met Gala, Jeff Bezos’ luxury residence at Madison Square Park (worth a reported $120 million) was lit up with a projection of a 72-year-old Amazon warehouse worker, Mary Hill. In the video, she testified to struggling “from paycheck to paycheck” while propping up his multi-trillion-dollar empire. “The people that need to be being celebrated at the Met Gala are the workers,” she said. “People like me... We deserve so much more than we’re getting.” Besides working full-time for Amazon while being treated for cancer multiple times, Hill leads a campaign for elder workers at Amazon. “We’re going to keep fighting this dystopian culture,” she told New York City on the eve of the Ball. “We’re not stopping. We’re just getting cranked up.” (TW)

AMAZON WORKERS HELD A ‘BALL WITHOUT BILLIONARIES’

Co-hosted by fashion stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson and Abbott Elementary actress Lisa Ann Walter, hundreds of people gathered in New York’s Meatpacking District to watch the union-led counterprotest ball by Amazon delivery drivers, warehouse workers, and local activists. As reported by The Cut, the protesters they spoke to were disturbed by Amazon’s AI investments, ICE contracts, and history of work exploitation, and called for a boycott of the Met Gala, which was co-chaired this year by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos. (HJ)

AMAZON POWERS ICE

A poster of Bezos dressed as an ICE agent appeared at a bus stop near the Metropolitan Museum of Art and read: ‘Amazon powers ICE. Boycott the Bezos Met Gala’. According to research by Mijente, Amazon Web Services is a prime driver of ICE incarcerations and deportations as they provide ICE with personal identifiable information that is used to target migrants. In their report ‘Who’s Behind ICE: Tech Companies Fuelling Deportations,’ they write: “ICE cannot wage its war against immigrants without the critical infrastructure support provided by tech corporations like Amazon.” (HJ)

SARAH PAULSON’S BOTCHED STATEMENT

Actor Sarah Paulson turned up on the carpet wearing a grey gown from Matières Fécales’ One Percent collection, paired with their “Blinded by Money” leather mask. Writing on Instagram, the brand wrote: “The collection was a reflection of the greed and corruption that comes with extreme power.” But it’s safe to say that, given the context, Paulson’s statement didn’t exactly land: many people have taken to social media to point out the hypocrisy of the actor wearing a dress designed to critique the elite while participating in an event by and for… the elite (entry to the Met Gala costs an eye-watering £56,000 if you’re not personally invited by a fashion brand who’ll foot the cost for you). “If you want to protest the rich don’t go to an event that costs $100k per ticket. And give your $12m net worth away,” read one X post about the look. (SS)

PISS PROTEST

The British political activist group Everyone Hates Elon took a break from denouncing their pet exploitative billionaire to... denounce a different exploitative billionaire in the halls of the Metropolitan Museum. Almost 300 “piss bottles” filled with fake urine were scattered throughout the Met in the run-up to the event, in a reference to ongoing allegations that Amazon workers aren’t provided adequate bathroom breaks. 

“Jeff Bezos’s company Amazon is literally being sued for forcing workers to urinate in bottles,” wrote the anti-billionaire organisation on Instagram. “Amazon avoids MILLIONS in tax and Bezos is one of the world's richest men. The Met Museum is taking the PISS by having Jeff honoured as their Gala host. When they celebrate Trump’s billionaires, let’s ridicule them instead.” Outside the Met Gala, meanwhile, they installed a “VIP toilet” consisting of empty plastic bottles and a sign reading: “Installed in honour of Met Gala chair Jeff Bezos. Go ahead, it’s good enough for his staff.” (TW)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI SIMPLY DIDN’T TURN UP

OK, so we knew that the NYC mayor wasn’t going to attend this year’s Met Gala. Back in April, he told reporters, “I love the Met”, but that his focus lies on “making the most expensive city in the United States affordable”. Basically, attending the Gala would be a waste of time (plus not a great look). This is significant because it breaks with years of tradition, with the city’s mayor typically in attendance. Taking things a step further, Mamdani chose to spend time with fashion workers instead, spotlighting the seamstresses, tailors, retail staff, and delivery drivers who keep the industry running behind the scenes. (TW)