2026 Met Gala: Jeff Bezos Sponsorship Sparks Boycott, Mayor Skips

The 2026 Met Gala, held on the first Monday in May, raised funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute and launched the 'Costume Art' exhibition opening May 10, 2026. The dress code 'Fashion is Art' inspired varied interpretations: Hunter Schafer wore a dress based on Gustav Klimt's 'Mäda Primavesi'; Chase Infiniti channeled a sequined 'Venus de Milo'; Heidi Klum arrived as a marble statue referencing Rafaelle Monti's 'Veiled Vestal'; Madonna donned a ship-shaped fascinator; Eileen Gu wore an Iris Van Herpen dress blowing real bubbles. Controversy erupted after former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos paid $10 million to become lead sponsors in November 2025, prompting boycott calls and several A-listers to skip the event. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani broke a tradition by not attending, the first mayor to do so since 2002.