Prominent holdouts of this year’s ball sponsored by Jeff Bezos included Zohran Mamdani, Zendaya and Taraji P Henson
It’s the Met Gala in New York on Monday and as photos stream out from the red carpet, the people I find myself thinking about most are three prominent holdouts. The annual ball, which raises money for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum, has always summoned a strong turnout from the have-your-cake-and-eat-it community, notably Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a few years ago in her “tax-the-rich” dress. This year, that role was assumed by the actor Sarah Paulson, who wore a dollar bill covering her eyes in apparent reference to the “blindness” of the 1%, a protest she undertook while nobly taking one for the team by refusing to sit out the $100,000-a-head event.
Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York, declined his invitation, unlike many mayors before him (Bill De Blasio – thrilled to be there; Eric Adams – couldn’t beetle up that red carpet fast enough). On the night, while the Kardashians and other influencers enjoyed the spotlight, Mamdani posted on the mayor’s official social media feed to pay tribute to “the garment, retail, and warehouse workers who keep the industry running”. The actor Zendaya also declined to attend, for work reasons she said. And there was criticism of the gala from the actor Taraji P Henson, who posted: “I am so confused by some ppl that are going. I am just like WTF ARE WE DOING?”
