Nan Goldin leads protest at Met against Sackler family opioid ties

On Saturday, demonstrators gathered at the Metropolitan Museum in New York to protest the institution's sponsorship by the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin. The action took place at the Egyptian temple in the Sackler Wing, named for brothers who donated millions in the 1970s. Protesters threw pill bottles labeled 'OxyContin' and 'Brought to you by the Sackler family' into the temple's shallow moat. Banners reading 'Shame on Sackler' and 'Fund Rehab' were unfurled. Nan Goldin, founder of the pressure group PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now), led the protest, which lasted about twenty minutes and ended peacefully. Goldin became addicted to OxyContin after it was prescribed post-surgery in 2014. The group demanded that Purdue Pharma fund addiction treatment centers and called on cultural institutions to reject further Sackler donations. The New York Times reported on the event.