TLDR
Bella Hadid has aligned herself with growing criticism of Jeff Bezos’ role at this year’s Met Gala, as Zendaya and Meryl Streep step back from fashion’s biggest night.
On paper, it is the same glittering fundraiser that has defined red-carpet fantasy for generations. In reality, this year’s Met Gala is turning into a referendum on who stars are willing to stand beside, and Bella Hadid just made her choice clear with a single tap of her thumb.
The 29-year-old supermodel, a five-time Met attendee and long-favored guest on those museum steps, quietly liked a video on Instagram from commentator Meredith Lynch. In the clip, Lynch calls out the disconnect between celebrity activism and attendance at an event chaired by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez.
Lynch tells followers, “You cannot wear the ICE out pin to the Jeff Bezos-backed Met Gala. Jeff Bezos is part of the reason we’re in this mess.” Bella’s like may seem small, but in an ecosystem where every digital move is tracked, it reads as a clear nod of support.
The criticism centers on Amazon’s ties to the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Reporting over recent years has highlighted federal contracts involving Amazon Web Services and data work connected to Palantir, whose software has been used by ICE to track and identify immigrants. For fans who once cheered stars for wearing protest pins on these same carpets, the Bezos connection feels impossible to ignore.
Bella is not alone. Zendaya, one of the Met Gala’s most-watched dressers and a reliable source of viral moments, is sitting out the event this year. According to the Daily Mail, Meryl Streep was also rumored as a potential co-chair, but insiders say she declined after Bezos and Sanchez became the financial and symbolic center of the night.
An industry source described deep discomfort inside the fashion world, telling the outlet that it is “quite frankly, very hurtful and very disturbing” for the Bezoses to front an evening that has long been treated as a quasi-sacred institution. The insider added that their involvement “feels like a real slap in the face to a lot of people.”
Behind the scenes, planners are reportedly divided. The gala is a crucial fundraiser for the museum’s fashion collection, but it also functions as an annual loyalty test. Designers, actors, and powerful publicists are all weighing whether association with Bezos enhances or complicates their prestige.
For Bezos and Sanchez, this is another chapter in a public image that refuses to stay uncomplicated. Their lavish Venice wedding in June 2025 drew protesters, and the Blue Origin flight that sent Sanchez and an all-female crew to space in April 2025 was labeled “gluttonous” by critics who saw it as a billionaire spectacle.
For Bella, Zendaya, and Streep, the decision to distance themselves reads as a different kind of red-carpet statement. In an era when a single Met appearance can define a celebrity’s fashion legacy, choosing not to climb those steps may say more than any beaded gown ever could.
The guest list will ultimately tell the story. When the flashbulbs pop, every presence and every absence will signal where Hollywood’s power players believe the line now sits between glamour, patronage, and conscience.
Would you skip the Met Gala on principle, or is showing up the more powerful statement? Whose choices shape your view of this year’s event?
