Taraji P. Henson is censuring her fellow A-Listers for attending this year’s Met Gala, which is controversially sponsored by honorary co-chairs Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos.
The Empire actress co-signed a social media post from Meredith Lynch titled “a warning for celebs,” in which she cautioned those attending to not wear ICE Out pins given that Bezos is “part of the reason we’re in this f—ing mess.” While Lynch acknowledged the fundraising nature of fashion’s biggest night, she said it’s “wild to me that this event is sponsored by Jeff Bezos, who has backed Trump, who has slashed arts funding.”
Henson commented in response, alongside clapping emojis of endorsement: “I am so confused by some ppl that are going. I am just like WTF ARE WE DOING!?!?!?!”
Separately, the Oscar nominee reposted a photo from EU reproductive rights organization My Voice My Choice that juxtaposed Bezos’ $500 million superyacht with the fact that “immigrant workers in Amazon warehouses face precarious conditions, low wages, and high injury rates.” She captioned the Instagram Story with, “Enjoy the MET 😒.”
Bezos reportedly contributed $10 million to sponsor the gala.
Henson has been a staple attendee at the May fete, as have Zendaya, Bella Hadid and Ariana Grande, who also did not attend, though their reasoning has been unconfirmed.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also said he would not attend this year’s Met Gala — eschewing the path taken by his predecessors, including Eric Adams — noting that he wants to focus on affordability issues instead.
Especially as tax the rich sentiment reaches a boiling point, The New York Times reported that an activist group called Everyone Hates Elon — a namesake of another ire-drawing billionaire, Elon Musk — has been calling for a boycott of the event. Ahead of the weekend and leading up to the event, the group deposited nearly 300 bottles of fake urine inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in a statement calling attention to longstanding allegations that Amazon drivers are forced to pee in containers.
The Met Gala serves as the primary fundraiser for the Costume Institute at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. This year, attendees included Blake Lively, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Madonna, Janelle Monae, Sabrina Carpenter, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti, Bad Bunny, Emma Chamberlain, Heated Rivalry‘s Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, and many others.