What to Know
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s involvement in the Met Gala this year led to some people boycotting the event and even going so far as to say that anyone who still chose to attend was basically MAGA-aligned. Ahead of the star-studded event, which functions as a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, Mother Jones published an article titled, “The Met Gala’s MAGA Problem.”
The Amazon founder and his wife sponsored this year’s Met Gala and were named honorary co-chairs. This sparked a ton of backlash. As Mother Jones pointed out, Amazon donated $1 million to President Donald Trump’s inauguration fund. The company also spent $40 million on obtaining the rights to Melania Trump’s documentary, Melania, and then spent $35 million more promoting the film. So, although the Trump family has reportedly been banned from attending the Met Gala, critics of the Trump administration thought it felt a little too MAGA-adjacent this year. Interestingly, MAGA supporters didn’t appear to love it either, though.
The Trump family used to attend the Met Gala.
Ivanka Trump making her grand entrance at the Met Gala pic.twitter.com/D6BxnPlFgZ
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) May 4, 2026
They haven’t been back in years. Although there have been lots of rumors about who’s banned from attending the Met Gala, it’s widely believed that only one person is truly banned from the soirée: the current president of the United States (it’s almost surprising that he doesn’t brag about this, since it’s such a rare “accomplishment”).
The president and first lady were regular Met Gala attendees at one point. In 2004, the president even proposed to his third wife there. However, in 2017, former Vogue editor-in-chief and Met Gala host Anna Wintour answered “Donald Trump” when asked about who she would never invite back to the Met Gala, per Stylecaster.
The publication noted that other members of the family appear to be banned as well, as Ivanka Trump last attended the event in 2016.
But some critics think those who attended this year might be MAGA-aligned.
I’m just gonna assume every celebrity that attends the Bezos Met Gala is MAGA.
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) May 4, 2026
Or, at least, not passionately anti-Trump or anti-Bezos. A discussion about the topic started on X when one social media user posted, “I’m just gonna assume every celebrity that attends the Bezos Met Gala is MAGA.” This take was actually pretty divisive. Overall, people have complicated feelings about the Met Gala, and Bezos’ involvement certainly didn’t help.
“I don’t think EVERY one is MAGA, but I don’t think they are very anti-MAGA either,” one person responded. Someone else said, “I’m going to assume they care more about the publicity (than) standing up for what is right.”
And another critic wrote, “Lauren looks like the plastic Mar-a-Lago bimbos.”
However, many others disagreed. “That’s not necessarily true,” someone else argued. “It is after all a charitable event to support the arts… Anna Wintour is definitely not MAGA.” (She did, after all, say that Trump would never be invited back to the event).
Actual MAGA supporters didn’t seem to support the event either.
So, while some people saw the event as too MAGA-aligned, some MAGA supporters appeared to think it felt too liberal. As The Daily Beast pointed out, Bezos’ involvement in the event didn’t exactly seem to win conservatives over. Conservatives on social media bashed celebrities’ outfits and also criticized the event for being an offensive display of wealth while ordinary Americans are struggling.
Per the publication, MAGA influencer Bethany O’Leary complained, “The Met Gala is just a bunch of washed-up celebrities and out-of-touch millionaires cosplaying as ‘edgy’ while wearing $50k dresses made by people who can’t afford rent.”
And conservative commentator Link Lauren accused Vogue of being “partisan hacks who don’t care about a majority of the country.” To him, it feels like an “elite Democrat bubble.”
READ NEXT: Melania Trump’s New Side Gig Raises Eyebrows Over Bezos–Trump Relations
