‘Wtf are we doing?’: The huge backlash that caused celebs to boycott the 2026 Met Gala

The Met Gala 2026 has received huge backlash, and some celebs even boycotted the event this year. The annual gala took place on May 4th, in New York City. The theme this year was “Costume Art”, exploring fashion as an embodied art form.

All eyes have been on the celebs and their incredible looks, but at the same time a tweet has gone viral calling out the event. This year, there has been controversy over the sponsors. The event is usually sponsored by a fashion brand, or sometimes a tech brand. However this year, the sponsors were Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos. The couple are also honorary co-chairs. 

Nicole Kidman, Lauren Sanchez Bezos and Anna Wintour at the Met Gala 2026, via Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

The event has been called out as “tone-deaf” in the wake of the billionaire couple’s involvement. Actress and producer Taraji P. Henson called out celebrities who are still attending this year’s event, and said: “WTF ARE WE DOING!?!?!?!”. Presenter Meghan McCain called it “creepy”. Actress Nathalie Kelly had similar thoughts, and called the event “dystopian” and “elitist”.

Critics have questioned the display of wealth that the event is, at a time of rising inequality and growing economic pressure.

Celebs are said to have boycotted the Met Gala 2026 over the involvement of Jeff and Lauren

The right decision from Zendaya. With Jeff Bezos sponsoring, and the inclusion of Meta and co, the Met Gala is turning into tech billionaire overlords event, making things very uncool and unfashionable. They’re already taking over so much of life, and now want to enter fashion https://t.co/eMLcKKrmrK

— Emi Eleode (@EmiEleode) May 1, 2026

There are rumours some celebs have boycotted the event because of the Bezos’ involvement. The Hollywood Reporter heavy hinted Meryl Streep was one.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actress was asked to co-chair the Met Gala before, but backed out. It was claimed she was asked to co-chair again this year, but turned it down once again.

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The Hollywood Reporter has also said author Amy Odell, who wrote a biography on Anna Wintour, believes Meryl is “flatly opposed to Bezos’ involvement” and passed on the invite.

“Meryl has been invited to the Met Gala for many years but has never attended,” her publicist then told BuzzFeed. “While she appreciates Vogue, Anna, and her incredible imagination and stamina—it has never quite been her scene.”

The backlash caused a protest

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A post shared by Everyone Hates Elon (@everyonehateselon_)

There was a huge protest at the event, in which bottles of urine were left in the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Everyone Hates Elon, a British political activist group.

Up to 300 “bottles of urine” are said to have been left at the venue, in protest to billionaire Jeff Bezos’ treatment of Amazon workers. They were full of fake urine, but the reference was to claims from multiple employees at Jeff Bezos’s Amazon, who alleged they weren’t given toilet breaks.

The group said: “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. The Met Museum is taking the P*SS by having Jeff honoured as their Gala host. When they celebrate Trump’s billionaires, let’s ridicule them instead 💋.”

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