From its union to antiquities experts, Met Gala faces criticism from all sides
Most of this year's criticism focused on Jeff Bezos's involvement.
Pop Culture
The Metropolitan Museum of Art held its annual Met Gala on Monday, a star-studded event that drew criticism from all sides even before it began.
“Tonight, the Met Gala celebrates ‘Fashion is Art.’ But many of the objects behind that inspiration carry histories of armed conflict, racketeering and organized crime,” the Antiquities Coalition posted on social media. “Follow along as we match iconic looks with stolen antiquities returned from the Met.”
The Antiquities Coalition drew comparisons between the clothing Katy Perry wore to the Met Gala in 2019 and a Roman terracotta figure of Isis-Aphrodite, while Doja Cat wore an outfit seemingly inspired by a cat-shaped vessel in 2023.
“The Met faces ongoing scrutiny over objects in its collection associated with alleged traffickers or with unclear provenance,” the Antiquities Coalition said.
“The glamour of the Met Gala risks overshadowing the red flags the museum still hasn’t addressed. Transparency remains an ongoing challenge: public information on restituted objects is minimal and proves difficult to locate on the museum’s website.”
The Met's own union, which is bargaining for its first contract after decisively winning an election to organize in January, shared a post to social media critical of billionaire Jeff Bezos—who is bankrolling the gala.
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The union said that 19% of workers in the bargaining unit earn less annually than the price of a single ticket to the gala. It also said 91% of its hourly staff and 27% of its salaried staff earn less than a living wage.
“Happy Met Gala Day,” the union captioned its post.
Academy Award–nominated actor Taraji P. Henson, best known for roles in Empire and Hidden Figures and a previous Met Gala attendee, appeared to amplify criticism of the Met Gala in an Instagram story.
She posted “Enjoy the MET” alongside a displeased emoji while resharing content that contrasted Jeff Bezos’s reported $500 million superyacht with claims about working conditions for immigrant laborers in Amazon warehouses.
Amazon workers and their unions themselves expressed criticism of the Met Gala with their own fashion show Monday, while the British activist group Everyone Hates Elon claimed to have hidden hundreds of bottles of fake urine around the museum before the event.
“Jeff Bezos's company Amazon is literally being sued for forcing workers to urinate in bottles. Amazon avoids millions in tax and Bezos is one of the world's richest men,” Everyone Hates Elon said in its post. “The Met Museum is taking the PISS by having Jeff honored as their Gala host.”
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