The Met Gala hasn’t even begun, but the drama already has, courtesy of the billionaire couple who hosted the kickoff party. Over the weekend, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos threw a pre-Met Gala party at their New York City residence on Saturday, May 2.
The party was meant to be a warm-up ahead of the much-awaited annual fashion event, held on the first Monday of May to support the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City.
Offering $10 million to sponsor Monday’s Met Gala, the 62-year-old Amazon founder and the Emmy-winning journalist, 56, are serving as honorary co-chairs and are the primary donors funding. They reportedly scored major points with Anna Wintour for their billionaire connection to the event.
The couple, who recently spent millions on a film about First Lady Melania Trump’s life, were named as lead sponsors, alongside secondary donors, Condé Nast and Saint Laurent. This gave the world’s third-richest man and his wife power to influence the invites to the Met Gala and the overall presentation of it.
“The Bezoses are where the American dream is at right now for status, wealth, and style,” William Norwich, a former editor for Vogue told Page Six. “They display conspicuous consumption [and] they have the ‘AWOK’ — the Anna Wintour OK.” The fashion game was downright excessive at the billionaire couple-hosted pre-game, as stars like Kris Jenner, Sam Smith, Nicole Kidman, Serena Williams, Gayle King, and others attended the event.
Netizens had wild reactions to the looks, asking, “Are they raising money for cosmetic surgery?”
“The rich club. Not for everyone,” one said, while another wrote, “All these celebrities are paid to be there.”
“A pre-party?” one asked. “The actual hunger games celebration isn't enough?”
Here are some of the scandalous looks that Hollywood’s elite wore to the party.