Lauren Sánchez Bezos is facing a wave of online criticism over her 2026 Met Gala look, which many have found “boring” and “disappointing.”
The 56-year-old journalist, who is sponsoring this year’s event alongside her billionaire husband Jeff Bezos, arrived Monday at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in a midnight-blue mermaid dress with a heart-shaped neckline and beaded straps. This year’s dress code, “Fashion is Art,” encourages guests to think about how they can use their bodies as a blank canvas.
Speaking to host La La Anthony about how her dress embodied the theme, Bezos said it was designed by Schiaparelli as a tribute to John Singer Sargent’s 1884 painting Madame X. “It’s a painting that’s actually in the Met,” Sánchez Bezos said. Praising her team of stylists for doing an “incredible job,” Sánchez Bezos said she was “so grateful to them.”
While Sánchez Bezos's look was intended to pay homage to a classic masterpiece, numerous people slammed its simplicity. “Sooo basic,” one person wrote on X. “They hosted this so she could have done anything. This is a disgusting disappointment.” “What a miss!” a second agreed. “This is giving nothing!” “Looks like she’s going to the prom in 1992,” a third added. “So tacky.” “Lauren Sánchez Bezos at the 2026 Met Gala with all that money she couldn’t buy creativity,” a fourth quipped. “Fashion is Art event and where is the ‘art?’” another questioned.
“Lauren Sanchez paid so much to be here but she couldn’t even commit to the Madame X reference,” another argued. “The dress isn’t even the same color or fabric.” In the original portrait, the subject appears to be wearing a black evening gown, featuring a heart-shaped velvet bodice and a long skirt made of either satin or a similar silk.
This year’s event, dubbed “The Bezos Met Gala” by protestors, has faced backlash following the announcement that the tech mogul and his wife would be the lead sponsors. The Bezos’s involvement in this year’s event has led to a boycott campaign from the political activist group Everyone Hates Elon, which has distributed flyers across New York City that read “Boycott the Bezos Met Gala” in the lead-up to the ball. The sponsorship has primarily sparked outrage due to accusations that the Amazon mogul and his wife are buying up influence in popular culture, media and politics.
Vogue’s former editor-in-chief Anna Wintour previously attempted to quell the backlash over the couple’s involvement. She told CNN in November: “I think Lauren is going to be a wonderful asset to the museum and to the event. I’m very grateful for her incredible generosity, and she’s a great lover of costume and obviously of fashion, so we’re thrilled she’s part of the night.”
