Protesters Target Bezos at Met Gala with 'Resistance Runway'

On May 4, 2026, a protest organized by Rise and Resist unfolded near the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the Met Gala, which Jeff Bezos co-chaired with his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos. Dozens of costumed demonstrators staged a 'Resistance Runway' a few blocks away, denouncing Bezos's wealth and political ties. Emcee Jay W. Walker called the gala an 'ostentatious display of wealth' amid national crises. Outfits addressed trans rights, fascism, and 'eating the rich,' with an ABBA dance party. Bezos reportedly skipped the red carpet after weeks of backlash. The British group Everyone Hates Elon had projected boycott messages on Bezos's penthouse, wheatpasted posters, and placed fake urine bottles in the museum to protest Amazon's labor practices. Elle Feneide, a Manhattan University student, held a sign reading 'Your red carpet is stained with blood.' Karin Shaw, a protester in a Statue of Liberty crown, said Bezos 'is destroying this country.' Rise and Resist, founded by former ACT UP members, has a history of creative dissent, including a 2023 protest over charges against climate activists who smeared paint on a Degas work. The Met Gala has been a protest flashpoint before: in 2024, pro-Palestine activists were arrested, and in 2023, honoree Karl Lagerfeld drew condemnation for past remarks.