Activists Protest Bezos at Met Gala

Activists staged a fashion show in Manhattan to protest Jeff Bezos' sponsorship of the Met Gala, highlighting workers' rights and criticizing billionaire influence on culture.

According to The Guardian, Labor is Art, a group comprising Amazon workers, their unions, and supporters, organized the event on Little West 12th Street. The show aimed to emphasize that laborers have the power to tell their own stories and that their work makes Amazon successful. Protesters criticized Bezos for bigfooting the city with his wealth and influence.

As reported by The Guardian, Alexia Sol, a trans activist, walked in the show wearing Cindy Cruz. She stated, “Billionaires are not the most important people in the world. The most important are the people, and when the people work for billionaires they’re just making them more money.” Samari Jomar Mercado, an Amazon warehouse employee, highlighted the physical toll of her job.

Additional protests included Everyone Hates Elon, a UK campaign group that dropped 500 small bottles of fake urine around the Metropolitan Museum of Art. According to The Guardian, they also projected video interviews with Amazon workers onto iconic buildings like the Empire State Building and Bezos’ penthouse.

Meanwhile, celebrities like Zendaya and Tom Holland decided not to attend the Met Gala this year. As noted by Daily Mail, Zendaya had previously attended but chose to skip due to Bezos' sponsorship. Bella Hadid also showed support for the protest by liking an Instagram video criticizing the event's alignment with Bezos.