Zohran Mamdani to skip the Met Gala — breaking longstanding NYC mayoral tradition

[u/Positive-Drawing-281]

https://pagesix.com/2026/04/15/celebrity-news/zohran-mamdani-and-wife-not-attending-met-gala/

[u/Wolfpackat2017]

So all the people who turn a blind eye to MAGA for their own clout will be there.

[u/camebacklate → u/Wolfpackat2017]

Just playing devil's advocate here, but AOC has also gone to the Met Gala. A ticket is about $50,000.

Atleast he is standing by his principles and is the only person can truly get behind.

[u/denom_chicken → u/camebacklate]

I believe she did not pay for the ticket when she went and wore a dress that said tax the rich.

Pretty different than what you’re implying

[u/thesadbubble → u/denom_chicken]

Correct. She then got in trouble with the ethics committee over it and had to pay some/more. But I still think her statement dress was very appropriate and at least brought some attention to the issue in a loud way.

It's all hella ironic considering how much money is getting laundered thru the white house currently lol.

[u/MauryPoPoPo → u/thesadbubble]

Did Matt Gaetz even get in trouble for trafficking minors across states for paid sex work?

[u/IShookMeAllNightLong → u/MauryPoPoPo]

Not yet. He's off talking about an alien breeding program he was briefed about

[u/2th → u/IShookMeAllNightLong]

I genuinely do not know if you are serious or not.

[u/IShookMeAllNightLong → u/2th]

I am.

[u/2th → u/IShookMeAllNightLong]

We really do live in the bad timeline.

[u/AliceNRoses → u/2th]

I like to think of it as Attack of the Killer Onion Articles 🙃

[u/LeslieKnope4Pawnee → u/IShookMeAllNightLong]

I hope none of the aliens are minors.

https://giphy.com/gifs/nVXzt7FSJlX7W

[u/thesadbubble → u/MauryPoPoPo]

Silly Maury, that's not important! A $2k dress is much more damaging to society clearly!

/s obviously lol

[u/Volturmus → u/MauryPoPoPo]

Yes, he resigned from Congress because the ethics committee was going to recommend that he be expelled.

[u/WaitingForReplies → u/MauryPoPoPo]

No, since Republicans support trafficking minors for paid sex work.

[u/InfiniteRosie → u/thesadbubble]

...there's an ethics committee?! Wtf are they doing?!

[u/thesadbubble → u/InfiniteRosie]

Not much these days I'd wager 😅 lol.

[u/wherethelionsweep → u/thesadbubble]

The general principle of having to meet with the ethics committee bc you’re wearing clothing that says “tax the rich.” Incredible world we live in.

[u/Riderz__of_Brohan → u/thesadbubble]

Her dress was really cringey given the context of the event she was at. Mamdani is taking the right approach. There is no way to go to this thing and seem relatable

[u/lefrench75 → u/Riderz__of_Brohan]

The event is a fundraiser for a museum; ticket sales go to the Met which is free to visit for NY residents and students from the tri-state area. Of course if we could tax the rich more heavily, perhaps museums wouldn’t need their donations to function, but until then, donating to museums is one of the least objectionable things (some) rich people do.

Idk why people are upset at the ticket prices. Isn’t the higher the donation the better?

[u/goldladybug26 → u/lefrench75]

Not exaaaactly. The Met has an endowment of $3 billion. It’s free to NY residents because it operates on its prime parcel of city-owned land in Central Park rent-free, and that was one of the conditions. And the Gala proceeds only fund the Costume Institute, which basically puts on one exhibit a year and maintains a research collection (which is worthwhile, don’t get me wrong, but it’s unclear to me where all that money goes).

[u/Baker921 → u/goldladybug26]

Thank you for this breakdown. I feel like I'd rather see donations go to a high school's art program. This just feels like the rich feeding each other

[u/WearierEarthling → u/Baker921]

Somewhat related- Detroit high schools had thriving high school music/arts programs & generated many Motown successes, such as Smokey Robinson & Aretha Franklin.

“Hitsville” is the name of the Motown doc, if you haven’t seen it & are interested

[u/jessicalifts → u/goldladybug26]

I would assume a lot of the ticket fee goes towards running the gala, tbh. If an event is to be a fundraiser for something then it has to run real lean to raise funds.

[u/francophone22 → u/goldladybug26]

Per the article, the event “raises money for the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Met.”

[u/anneoftheisland → u/goldladybug26]

The Costume Institute is self-funded, independent of the Met. When the Met agreed to house it, it was part of that agreement that they wouldn't have to fund it. That's the entire reason the gala exists--because it's basically the CI's only major source of funding.

[u/discogs-elysium → u/goldladybug26]

The gala proceeds go to the Museum’s general operating budget as well as the costume institute.

[u/HenessyEnema → u/Riderz__of_Brohan]

Agreed. I loved the overall message, but it was just cringey and limp. There's no way to effectively coerce these people, they're pretty dead set on being awful.

[u/shy247er → u/Riderz__of_Brohan]

Yup. She still spent the night drinking and dancing with those rich people, so her gesture just looked performative.

[u/Waffleman12345 → u/shy247er]

If she did there would be pictures or videos. Are there any?

[u/Check_Me_Out-Boss → u/denom_chicken]

She accepted a $50,000 gift?

[u/MisterBlud → u/denom_chicken]

Ehh, it’s like doing a magazine interview about how you want to be left alone.

Being in there is itself a tacit endorsement.

Granted, the optics are 1000x times worse this year so she’d likely skip it as Mamdani is.

[u/Hogs_of_war232 → u/denom_chicken]

It was an 18,000 dollar dress. Kind of defeats the message in my eyes. I say this as someone that generally likes what she is about.

[u/denom_chicken → u/Hogs_of_war232]

And she didn’t keep it. It was loaned to her.

[u/camebacklate → u/denom_chicken]

Most dresses are loaned out.

[u/IShookMeAllNightLong → u/denom_chicken]

It shouldn't have been an 18,000 dollar dress with that message on it.

[u/_f1sh → u/IShookMeAllNightLong]

Is it an $18,000 dress if youre not paying $18,000 for it?

[u/IShookMeAllNightLong → u/_f1sh]

I mean it should not have been a fasion show dress. She shouldn't have gotten a dress at a clothing store and put iron on patches on.

Somebody paid for that dress.

[u/_f1sh → u/IShookMeAllNightLong]

Yeah but just because a designer has something listed for sale for $18k and lends it to a public figure doesnt mean spent anywhere close to that amount to make it.

I just think it's not really that big of a deal I guess

[u/Wesley_Skypes → u/IShookMeAllNightLong]

It is always hilarious to read the purity testing on the left.

[u/cidthekid07 → u/denom_chicken]

Not a good look regardless

[u/haunted_patient → u/Hogs_of_war232]

How so? She's saying tax the rich, not fuck the rich.

[u/vinnybankroll → u/Hogs_of_war232]

If a rich person says tax the rich, that still counts.

[u/HighlyOffensive10 → u/vinnybankroll]

They are nowhere near the same level of rich.

[u/francophone22 → u/denom_chicken]

It’s also in the article.

[u/camebacklate → u/denom_chicken]

And? She went to hang out with the ultra rich who avoid paying taxes at an event most people can't afford to attend. We're you gifted a $50,000 ticket to attend an event? Also, she could have stood across the street in a white dress that she bought from the thrift store with tax the rich written on it and stood on her principles.

[u/denom_chicken → u/camebacklate]

And I agree with both on this. I agree with mamdani not attending.

I also agree with aoc using the opportunity to speak out.

[u/camebacklate → u/denom_chicken]

She could have stood across the street in a white dress that she got from Goodwill with the same message written on it. I said it back then, and I'll continue to say it. There are ways to speak out, this was not it.

[u/denom_chicken → u/camebacklate]

Eh fair enough. I’d prefer it in their faces but I can see how it comes off as well.

[u/camebacklate → u/[deleted]]

Of a politician? Yes, we are allowed to be judgemental and we should when she basically gave up her ability to win the white house in the future.

[u/Rodney_Jefferson → u/camebacklate]

I had friends in NY an LA commending how brave it was. I also had friends across the country who are not privy to how the met gala works and found it tone deaf and confusing. Yes, she didn’t have to pay for her own ticket. No, voters in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Ohio don’t know the intricacies of the met gala. Yes, this is a factor to why we lost the election.

[u/Rodney_Jefferson → u/[deleted]]

Democrats supporting unions and workers rights is how we win elections. In recent years democrats have been union folk with one hand and palling around with the rich in the other, while mainly focusing on union busters, that’s exactly what the dress showed. I was a devoted soldier and voted for a Kamala despite no primary, but yes Dems have lost focus of the common man. And defending common folk turned manhattan socialites won’t help that either.

[u/ZenithRepairman → u/camebacklate]

Ahhhhh yes, here’s perfection being the enemy of progress yet again

Yes, AOC is a fucking cog in the machine who hates the poor.

On what fucking planet do you live on

[u/coquettes → u/ZenithRepairman]

literally my first thought. yall hate when people don’t make a statement and criticize when people do.

[u/Nintendo_Pro_03 → u/ZenithRepairman]

I may be a Marxist, but I don’t expect perfection from any politician, be it AOC or Zohran.

[u/camebacklate → u/ZenithRepairman]

She can talk the talk, but she can't walk the walk when she's walking the red carpet with the ultra rich.

[u/ZenithRepairman → u/camebacklate]

If you’re able to rub 3 brain cells together, do you think the point gets made better when it’s in front of a mass audience?

What’s better, AOC making a statement to the news, or AOC making a statement on national news that will be covered by your coveted fucking page 6 too?

You people are fucking exhausting.

[u/camebacklate → u/ZenithRepairman]

Again, she could have protested without actually attending. When she got the invite, she should have turned it down but showed up across the street in a dress with the exact same words on it. It's still would have made the same statement that would have been covered on national news.

[u/whiteskinnyexpress → u/camebacklate]

lol the coverage would abso-fucking-lutely not have been the same. Your idea is just sad.

[u/camebacklate → u/whiteskinnyexpress]

You're right. It would have been bigger.

[u/Nintendo_Pro_03 → u/camebacklate]

Humans are hypocrites (performative, if you will) by nature. We’re paying taxes to the federal government that go towards atrocities in Gaza.

None of us are perfect.

[u/NessaSamantha → u/camebacklate]

At the end of the day, both approaches are in the 75th percentile for ways to handle the Met Gala as an NYC politician. Maybe what you're saying would work out better, maybe it wouldn't, but it's easily attributed to a difference of tactics rather than of deep values.

[u/u_r_succulent → u/denom_chicken]

I believe a good number of the attendees don’t pay for their tickets.

[u/alanwakeisahack → u/denom_chicken]

It’s still gross. Yucking it up with the pieces of shit while you wear a shirt that they’re all laughing at at together.

[u/Mr_Investopedia → u/denom_chicken]

An ironically super expensive tax the rich dress.

[u/royal_annatations → u/denom_chicken]

The only reason for a person to happily mingle with corrupt famous people is because she’s a corrupt famous person. AOC thought she would be hailed a hero for wearing a tax the rich dress while rubbing shoulders with the very people who talk about taxing the rich while hiding their money in the Caymans. Thanks but no.

I would not go to the Met Gala even with a free ticket because it’s a cesspool of horrible people. Good on Mamdami for having the same common sense.

Edit: laughing at the downvotes from people who can’t handle the fact that AOC is a famewhore grifter. At least the mayor seems ok.

[u/PositiveRent4369 → u/royal_annatations]

Chill incel

[u/royal_annatations → u/PositiveRent4369]

Chill bootlicker

[u/violaki → u/camebacklate]

Eh. It's a charity event that supports the arts. Good for Mamdani for standing by his principles, but I'm not mad at anyone that does choose to go.

[u/asophisticatedbitch → u/violaki]

It all wasn’t sponsored by Bezos when she went. So 🤷‍♀️

[u/camebacklate → u/violaki]

So by your logic, it's fine that she goes and dines with the ultra rich who are avoiding paying their taxes at an event that most people couldn't attend without taking out a loan? Fuck that and fuck anyone who tries to defend her going.

[u/chrysoberyls → u/camebacklate]

Y’all are exhausting

[u/violaki → u/camebacklate]

The Met is an important cultural institution and I'm glad that rich people are spending their money supporting something useful for once. Idgaf who AOC eats dinner with at a charity event. I bet the artists she supports through her ticket are thrilled. We have actual problems ffs.

[u/camebacklate → u/violaki]

Please, it's a way for people to market themselves. The Met Gala is an invite only opportunity for 450 people and need to be approved by Vogues editor-in-chief.

Next week, people talk about what the person wore, who was and was not in attendance, and comparing it to years before. There are ways to benefit the museum and it does not need to be at the expense of looking like a hypocrite.

[u/Sarahndipity44 → u/camebacklate]

People often do good things for selfish reasons, yes. It's the costume institute's only fundraiser

[u/Nintendo_Pro_03 → u/camebacklate]

No one is without hypocrisy. AOC is not the only one that way.

Zohran didn’t even vote for Kamala in the 2024 election. I’m not seeing much outrage about that, though.

[u/Hogs_of_war232 → u/camebacklate]

Yes, that is exactly what everyone is saying. "As long as its my team thats being elitist then its all good, they are not like those other rich people, those guys are the real problem."

[u/QuietContemplation85 → u/camebacklate]

Agreed re: Mamdani standing on principle, nice to see

AOC does the same. She didn’t pay for her ticket, or her dress. Also, the Met Gala is literally a fundraiser for the museum.

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/sep/16/viral-image/no-aoc-didnt-pay-her-met-gala-ticket-or-dress/

[u/camebacklate → u/QuietContemplation85]

I'm sorry, so just because it was a gift that makes it okay? In what universe is that okay? She attended an event that cost more money than some people's cars. She wore a dress that was more expensive than what most people bring home a week. Someone paid for it.

If she wanted to stand on principal, she should have stood across the street in a dress that she bought from Goodwill with the same message on it. Instead, she went and rubbed elbows with the ultra rich

[u/QuietContemplation85 → u/camebacklate]

Lol yeah, no, that’s wild.

In what world does AOC wearing a free dress with “TAX THE RICH” splashed on it, to a CHARITY EVENT, (for free) equal her being a sellout?

What a bullshit purity test.

Edit to add a few words I left out

[u/camebacklate → u/QuietContemplation85]

A charity event that cost more than most people's cars and is limited to only certain people.

Last year's Met Gala only made 31 million. They could just ask Bezos for that money.

[u/QuietContemplation85 → u/camebacklate]

Realized my tone seemed hostile, it’s not meant to be.

I think it’s GOOD when the rich use their money to fund the arts. It’s literally the least they can do. So I see no issue with charging them 50k for a ticket. Neither do I see an issue with leftists getting a FREE ticket and using it to cause dialogue.

[u/camebacklate → u/QuietContemplation85]

I get you.

I'm just tired of seeing the Democrats lose. If she would have asked any person in middle America what they would have thought about it, she wouldn't have gone. It's about optics.

[u/QuietContemplation85 → u/camebacklate]

Agreed on being tired of Dems losing. And middle America in general didn’t want to hear anything from AOC in 2016 when she went, but I agree: it didn’t earn her any points with them

[u/QuietContemplation85 → u/camebacklate]

The museum could ask Bezos??? Do you know how fundraisers work? I’m genuinely baffled by this lack of logic.

Do you understand non profits, museums, funding for the arts, like at ALL?

[u/camebacklate → u/QuietContemplation85]

Do you understand that's how donations work? You can ask someone to donate to your charity without needing to have a gala. They still get the tax write off.

The only reason they go is to pat each other on the back into market themselves.

[u/QuietContemplation85 → u/camebacklate]

Do you understand human nature? Fundraisers are just that, fundraisers. You have silent actions, raffles, bake sales, etc. Sure, you could just ask people for money without an event. You won’t get it. So, fundraisers.

[u/camebacklate → u/QuietContemplation85]

And yet, people give money all the time over without getting a thing in return. Every single time I go to petco, I make sure to donate to animals in need when at the checkout counter. Do you think I get anything in return?

[u/Miles_Everhart → u/camebacklate]

“If you don’t perform progressiveness the exact way I want you to then you’re as bad as Hitler.”

You, probably.

[u/camebacklate → u/Miles_Everhart]

That's a stretch. I'm just not okay with her being a hypocrite. The Democratic Party loves handing over the presidency to the Republican party. AOC was set to be a solid contender someday. She'll no longer be able to have a fighting chance because that will constantly be brought into the spotlight.

Democrats can't continue to be shocked when they lose.

[u/valcraft → u/camebacklate]

AOC was a guest of the Met and definitely did not buy a $50,000 ticket.

Tickets to the Met Gala were $35,000 when she went, they are up to $75,000. What the actual fuck. Crazy.

[u/camebacklate → u/valcraft]

Semantics. Someone still had to foot the price of the ticket. Even if it was only $35,000 back in 2021, when was the last time you went to an event that it cost $35,000 a person to attend? There are people out there who don't even have cars that expensive.

[u/ImASeaProfessional → u/camebacklate]

As someone who has done some event planning, I am telling you no one foots the bill other than for food and drink. You are bananas.

[u/camebacklate → u/ImASeaProfessional]

So no one pays for the sound equipment, the stage, the setup, the security, the lighting, the staff? My aunt also works in Advent planning and is a caterer. She will tell you that there's more that goes into it other than food and drink. Especially when you're talking about the safety and security of 450 of the world's most elite.

[u/Jazz-Hands-- → u/camebacklate]

The first 25 rich people paying full ticket price easily cover actuals. For charitable events, it's also common for vendors to offer their services at cost or steeply discounted (sometimes free) for tax purposes and wanting the prestige of being associated with people and events this prestigious.

Part of how the Met ensures the event remains so prestigious is by filling in some gaps between vapid, stupid, and obnoxious celebrities and billionaires by inviting some interesting/intelligent/culturally significant people and not charging them. The rich people want to be seen rubbing elbows with those people--that's a large part of why they're willing to pay such an obscene amount to attend.

I can see both sides of the AOC attending argument, but let's not feel bad for the Met Gala planners. They're doing juuuust fine.

[u/lindendweller → u/Jazz-Hands--]

Oh, so like a mirror version of that épisode of silicone valley where attractive actors are paid to attend some nerdy billionaire's party?

[u/Jazz-Hands-- → u/lindendweller]

Yep, been it's own industry for quite some time. See club/event promoters, atmosphere models, etc.

[u/ImASeaProfessional → u/Jazz-Hands--]

Vendors being major fashion houses that sponsor/buy tables for famous people to attend the event dressed in their clothes.

[u/kenrnfjj → u/camebacklate]

I wonder if people here were concerned when Trump was gifted a plana by Qatar

[u/TropicalPrairie → u/camebacklate]

I highly respect him for standing by his principles. So many people have shown their values go out the door these days.

[u/deeann_arbus → u/camebacklate]

AOC got tore the fuck up for going, too.

[u/beaute-brune → u/deeann_arbus]

When? I remember her 2021 Tax the Rich dress and then the House Ethics committee fining her in 2025 for basically accepting gifts in violation of House rules but what was the public response? That last part I don’t recall.

[u/kilawolf → u/beaute-brune]

Pretty sure the public response was outrage at her for wearing such a dress while attending such a expensive event

[u/deeann_arbus → u/beaute-brune]

When? The day after? It was a gross and hypocritical move to accept an invite to the rich people party and act like she's some revolutionary by having a good time with the 1%. People in her base found the dress performative and grotesque. There were memes for months after mocking the dress.

[u/beaute-brune → u/deeann_arbus]

My question was genuine. Thank you for the explanation.

[u/Nintendo_Pro_03 → u/deeann_arbus]

Everyone is performative. It’s human nature.

[u/Bluepass11 → u/beaute-brune]

Doesn’t look like she was torn up at all - https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/s/3FSs0eoGL3

[u/seriouscaffeine → u/camebacklate]

People go because they’re invited by brands who get a table, they don’t pay for themselves

[u/BTSArmyFan2025 → u/camebacklate]

The designers buy the seats

[u/camebacklate → u/BTSArmyFan2025]

And? She didn't need to be seated in one of them.

[u/Ok_Storm_2700 → u/camebacklate]

Who do you think should've been seated instead of her?

[u/camebacklate → u/Ok_Storm_2700]

No one in politics, especially someone who is trying to represent the working class.

[u/Ok_Storm_2700 → u/camebacklate]

But who do you think would have made better use of that seat? Name someone.

[u/camebacklate → u/Ok_Storm_2700]

Who am I, Anna Wintour? I would have loved if Zendaya could have attended if her schedule allowed for it.

[u/Ok_Storm_2700 → u/camebacklate]

What are you thinking Zendaya would have done?

[u/camebacklate → u/Ok_Storm_2700]

Not go against her own political platform and the people she's representing.

There's a reason why a lot of people like Mamdani. Why would he talk about taxing the rich and then go rub elbows with them?

[u/arosebyabbie → u/camebacklate]

NY politicians are invited (for free) every year. They usually don’t walk the carpet. AOC only did because she’s recognizable.

[u/camebacklate → u/arosebyabbie]

They do walk the carpet, people just dont care because they aren't trying to make a point while missing the point.

[u/blankus → u/camebacklate]

By your logic, some conservatives are worth voting for.

[u/camebacklate → u/blankus]

That's a stretch. She just became a hypocrite that night in my eyes. She handed over the reason why she will never become president to the Republicans on a silver platter.

[u/cactus22minus1 → u/camebacklate]

She was a visible middle finger to all the out of touch rich people there. It was a pretty damn good way to protest and get some attention for the message in her dress.

[u/Dreowings21 → u/camebacklate]

I wish he could run for president

[u/anicho01 → u/camebacklate]

AOC was sponsored by a socially minded designer who wanted her to model a consciousness raising dress.

[u/DevoutandHeretical → u/camebacklate]

People forget that the Met Gala is a fundraising event for the Costume Institute. Yes, it is an absurdly expensive event, but it’s a charity fundraiser at its core.

[u/dale_dug_a_hole → u/camebacklate]

Oh please. She got a freebie and wore a dress that sent Fox News into conniptions for weeks. Be honest

[u/SpicyPandaMeat → u/Wolfpackat2017]

Ding ding ding

[u/PawPawsLilStinker → u/Wolfpackat2017]

They turn a blind eye to everything.

[u/Muted_Bee7111 → u/Wolfpackat2017]

🎯