Last weekend was the grand Met Gala, and many A-listers boycotted the event after Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, sponsored big bucks. Lack of RSVPs and protests on the streets demonstrate the real show of what happens when politics mixes with fashion – and the message it sends when celebrities make an impression through absence. Notably, many civilians gathered outside the event with signs reading “tax the rich” and “billionaires for a dead planet,” using their right to assemble and protest against greed.
Stars Meryl Streep, Bella Hadid, Dua Lipa, and Zendaya resigned their invitations to this year’s Met Gala event. Their presence has always made a remarkable impression, so their absence shows a deeper statement than the missing gowns. Although we don’t know the direct reasons for each of their non-attendance, it is easy to assume that it has to do with the sponsors of this year’s function.
The honorary chairs and lead sponsors of this year’s event, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, discouraged its annual excitement. In a world where children are being killed, people are starving, the earth is deteriorating, and global poverty remains, it is ignorant to watch idly as they make a champagne toast in a grand party. Fashion is a movement, but the trend of spotlighting selfish billionaires leaves the fashion industry stagnant. It is useless to celebrate rich people walking in their glamorous, expensive gowns and picture-perfect smiles when behind that, there is blood on the hands of those who fund the event.
The United States is at war, and yet we watch society’s elite put on a project dress-up production, further feeding their wealth and status. As consumers, we control the markets, but only if we are conscious of where we put our money. I personally will eliminate shopping on Amazon. I will not contribute my earnings to a corporation that thrives on worker exploitation, wars, and social injustices. If art is meant to diversify perspectives and build an appreciation for the natural beauties of the globe, it is contradictory that the main event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is hosted by the very people who promote the opposite: abuse, fear, and terror.
Celebrities are just people, and within those pretty faces, they have a mind with abilities just like the average person. Once you eliminate their idolization, you start to see what their brand partnerships and promotions really stand for in our capitalistic-driven state.
The reality is that the fabric of this country – and its international influence – is fueled through the rich’s subsidies and complacency with the facade that is “art.” Watching A-listers walk down the red carpet is like watching a clip straight out of The Hunger Games (2021) – the rich strut in their multi-million-dollar pockets while injustices continue to break out in every part of the world.
Rejecting the RSVP is the best-looking decision you could make. Fashion is an art form that is most stylish when progressively participating in the ongoing political conversation of the world.