A protester was arrested at the Met Gala on Monday after allegedly jumping a barricade outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as public backlash mounted over Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's sponsorship of the event.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) confirmed that a 37-year-old man was taken into custody for disorderly conduct after he jumped a barrier at East 82nd Street and 5th Avenue. Charges are pending.
Unconfirmed reports suggest the arrested individual is Chris Smalls, the founder of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU). Smalls, 37, led the historic unionization campaign at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island in 2022. The NYPD declined to confirm his identity.
Video footage shows officers wrestling a man to the ground and discarding a black placard. A Reuters photographer captured a man resembling Smalls being arrested, holding a sign that read: "Amazon refuses to negotiate a contract with its union" and "Amazon invests in genocide"—a reference to the company's cloud contract with the Israeli government.
The protest is part of a broader campaign against Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez serving as honorary chairs of the Met Gala. Activists argue Bezos exploits workers and avoids taxes.
Over the weekend, protesters projected slogans onto buildings, including Bezos's apartment, with messages like "If You Can Buy the Met Gala, You Can Pay More Taxes." The group Everyone Hates Elon also left hundreds of bottles of urine inside the museum, referencing Amazon workers' lack of bathroom breaks.
Bezos did not attend the gala, though Sánchez walked the red carpet. Smalls had previously stated he would attend if invited, noting that Amazon has refused to negotiate with the union for four years.
Last month, the National Labor Relations Board ordered Amazon to recognize and bargain with the ALU, after years of legal disputes. Amazon has challenged the union's certification. Smalls was detained in Israel last year for participating in a humanitarian flotilla to Gaza.
