Anti-billionaire activist collective Everyone Hates Elon also protested the Amazon billionaire’s lavish Venice wedding, which was featured on the cover of Vogue magazine
Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and wife Lauren Sanchez are honorary co-chairs(Image: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Calls to boycott the Met Gala have been ramping up as the first Monday in May approaches.
A UK-based anti-billionaire activist group, Everyone Hates Elon, has been spotted putting up protest posters around Manhattan ahead of the annual Costume Institute gala on May 4, following Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez, being named co-chairs after donating a sizeable sum. One member of the collective spoke with the Hell Gate newsletter ahead of the Met Gala, hinting at an even bigger protest during the event.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently confirmed to the publication that he and his wife will not attend the star-studded event this year, breaking with mayoral tradition amid the city’s ongoing affordability crisis.
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When asked if the Met Gala’s cultural power has started to fade, the activist explained, “Yes. I’ve enjoyed looking at Met Gala dresses in the past, like millions of others, but I am getting sick of the contrast,” noting that “the world’s 12 richest people have more wealth than the poorest half of humanity,” a wealth disparity that is on full display at ultra-exclusive events like the Met ball.
They continued, “Art and fashion should be enjoyable. Anna Wintour is ruining the fun by cozying up to a man whose company just spent $75 million on a film about Trump’s wife to curry favor with him,” referring to the First Lady’s critically panned self-titled documentary produced by Amazon MGM Studios.
While Anna Wintour is no longer editor-in-chief of Vogue, the 76-year-old continues to serve as co-chair of the Costume Institute’s annual fundraiser and maintains an active role in the magazine.
“They put Jeff Bezos’s wedding on the front cover of Vogue. You’re telling me it’s because of this bald dude’s style? I don’t think so. They’re being bought off and used. Embarrassing,” the activist claimed.
The collective famously draped a massive banner with the words “If you can rent Venice you can pay more tax,” near the location of the Bezos wedding, and hinted at a possible demonstration during the Met Gala.
“We can’t tell you what else we’ll be getting up to just yet, as those in power don’t tend to love what we do,” the activist said.
The dress code for this year’s event, which features a hefty $75,000 price tag and ultra-exclusive guest list, is ‘Fashion is Art,’ with A-listers Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour serving as this year’s co-chairs. The 62-year-old billionaire and his 56-year-old wife were named honorary co-chairs after making a large donation, rumored to be in the eight-figure range.
The organizer went on to say, “We’re already winning. The decision to let Bezos chair is already blowing up in the faces of the organizers. When you Google ‘Met Gala,’ it’s a PR disaster. It sends a message that no institution or cultural icons should be letting billionaire oligarchs use their institutions to look cool while they cause so much harm.”
‘Boycott the Bezos Met Gala’ posters have started popping up all over Manhattan, protesting the event. The pseudo-advertisement campaign features slogans like, “There’s no dressing it up. Met Gala chair Jeff Bezos avoids tax, enables ICE, and backs Trump. Don’t let him get away with it,” “brought to you by worker exploitation,” and “brought to you by the firm that powers ICE.”
When it comes to their approach to protesting, the activist said, “We’re just saying things most people agree with—like, maybe billionaires should pay their taxes and workers should get a wage we can actually live off. Plus, we tend to be funny, that helps.”
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