A protester was arrested at the Met Gala on Monday after jumping a barricade outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in a demonstration against Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's sponsorship of the event.
The New York Police Department said a 37-year-old man was taken into custody on East 82nd Street and 5th Avenue, with charges pending. Witnesses identified the man as labour activist Chris Smalls, who led the 2022 campaign to unionise an Amazon warehouse in New York City. The NYPD did not confirm his identity.
Smalls, who is president of the Amazon Labor Union, had earlier posted on Instagram a photo of a sign reading: 'Amazon refuses to negotiate a contract with its union' and 'Amazon invests in genocide' in Israel. A Reuters photographer captured a man resembling Smalls holding a similar sign during the arrest.
The protest is the latest in a series of demonstrations against the Met Gala, which this year counts Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sánchez as honorary chairs. Over the weekend, activists projected messages onto buildings including Bezos's apartment, criticising his tax record and working conditions at Amazon.
Bezos did not attend the gala, though Sánchez walked the red carpet. Smalls had previously said he would attend if invited, noting that Amazon has refused to negotiate a contract with the union four years after its formation. Last month, the National Labor Relations Board ordered Amazon to recognise the union, a decision the company has challenged.
