As the 2025 Met Gala approaches, a grassroots activist campaign has spread provocative posters across New York City’s streets and subway systems, calling for a widespread boycott of the annual high-profile celebrity fundraising event to protest Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s role as a lead sponsor and honorary co-chair. Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos are set to take top honorary roles at the May 4 gala, which regularly attracts A-list guests from fashion, entertainment, business, and sports, and serves as one of the biggest fundraising events for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. But their prominent position at the star-studded event has sparked fierce pushback from activists targeting what they call exploitative and unethical business practices tied to the billionaire entrepreneur.
The campaign’s posters lean into sharp, provocative imagery to highlight criticism of Bezos and Amazon. One design shows a bottle of urine placed on a red carpet, a direct reference to longstanding reports that Amazon delivery drivers are forced to urinate in plastic bottles because rigid delivery schedules deny them regular bathroom breaks. Another poster depicts Bezos wearing a uniform from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), referencing Amazon Web Services – the company’s large cloud computing division – which holds a working contract with the agency, a body long criticized for its hardline immigration enforcement policies that gained notoriety during the Trump administration’s border crackdown.
The campaign is organized by “Everyone Hates Elon”, a UK-founded activist group that clarified its scope extends beyond targeting Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, to hold other billionaires accountable for the impact of their business and political power. Speaking on condition of anonymity over concerns of potential retaliation from powerful figures, a group spokesperson emphasized the importance of direct action against billionaires who wield outsized control over daily life. “I think it feels really powerful to take action,” the spokesperson said. “I think it’s speaking to a need that people have to stand up to some of these people that are controlling our lives.”
To fund the New York campaign, the group has raised more than 14,000 British pounds, equal to roughly $19,000, with nearly all funding coming from small individual donations that average 10 pounds per contribution. This is not the first time the Met Gala has faced public protest over its ties to extreme wealth and controversial figures. The annual event has long drawn criticism for its extravagant displays of elite affluence, and previous demonstrations have targeted the gala over issues ranging from economic inequality and environmental harm to the ongoing war in Gaza.