Rita Ora, a regular attendee of the Met Gala for the past decade, decided to skip this year's event amid growing backlash and instead shared a series of sizzling bikini photos on her Instagram Story on the same day.
The 35-year-old singer, who has attended the prestigious fashion event 10 times, notably missed the gala as protests reached fever pitch hours before the kickoff. Fury grew over the involvement of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, 62, and his wife Lauren Sanchez, 56, who have bankrolled much of the event.
Rather than attending, Rita posed for an array of skimpy bikinis that showcased her incredible figure. One photo featured a metallic green two-piece paired with a checked cap, taken on her phone against a floral backdrop. Another showed her in a black knit bikini with a bandeau top and brief bottoms, captured in a bathroom. The post also included a picture of her husband Taika Waititi, seen from behind as he walked ahead.
Protests and Backlash
In the last 24 hours, activists employed controversial tactics in a last-ditch boycott attempt. Baskets containing plastic water bottles were installed outside the museum, urging passersby to urinate in them. Above the stash, a sign read: 'The Met Gala VIP toilet. Installed in honor of Met Gala chair Jeff Bezos. Go ahead, it's good enough for his staff.'
The stunt aimed to draw attention to Amazon's treatment of workers. The group Everyone Hates Elon claims employees at Bezos's corporation have been forced to urinate in bottles due to denied toilet breaks. On Sunday, protest messages were projected onto Bezos's apartment block and city landmarks like the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building.
'Boycott the Bezos Met Gala,' read one projection, while another said, 'no red carpet for Trump's billionaires.' Video messages from Amazon workers were also emblazoned onto Bezos's penthouse, where he reportedly hosted a pre-Met Gala party. The anti-billionaire campaign group, funded by 1,000 donors worldwide and supported by current and former Amazon workers, organized the stunts.
A spokesman for Everyone Hates Elon said: 'Amazon founder and oligarch Jeff Bezos just finished his Met Gala pre-party at his penthouse and is getting ready for the big night. We couldn't let him get away with using celebrity and fashion to hide his crimes. We're exposing them instead.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to Amazon and the Metropolitan Museum of Art for comment.
Fan Reaction
When the gala kicked off, devastated fans took to social media to blast this year's event, branding it the 'worst' one ever. They slammed the 'cheap' outfits and shared outrage over the 'tacky' guest list. The event was noticeably missing big names like Zendaya and Billie Eilish, instead featuring social media stars, WAGs, models, and heiresses.
Many stars who did show up got it spectacularly wrong, turning the red carpet into a parade of sartorial disasters. Some feel the event has become a 'dystopian' parade of billionaires and influencers. Famous faces included Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Sabrina Carpenter, Blake Lively, Zoe Kravitz, Hailey Bieber, Beyonce, Rihanna, Gigi Hadid, Heidi Klum, and Katy Perry. But there were more Z-list celebrities than A-list, including Cristiano Ronaldo's fiancee Georgina Rodriguez, influencer Grace Ann Nader, and Rupert Murdoch's heiress daughters.
Billionaires were abundant, with Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, heiress Isha Ambani, George Soros's sons, Walmart heir Samuel Robson Walton, and venture capitalist Amy Griffin in attendance. Fans criticized the turnout on X, branding the event 'tacky,' 'out of touch,' and a 'billionaire's ball,' claiming it felt 'gross,' 'gauche,' and 'dystopian.'
One X user raged: 'Ah, the Met Gala, the chance for multi-millionaires to wear my life savings for a bit of fun and get attention. F**k the Met Gala.' Another slammed: 'The Met Gala is just a bunch of washed-up celebrities and out-of-touch millionaires cosplaying as "edgy" while wearing $50k dresses made by people who can't afford rent.'
Someone else claimed: 'The Met Gala stopped being an aspirational event and became a circus for millionaires.' A fourth post read: 'Met Gala and the people eating it up are losers... People can't afford to eat but yes let's care about some billionaires and what they are wearing for a night.'
A fifth said: 'Nothing says "Fashion Is Art" quite like billionaires buying honorary titles while the rest of us check gas prices. At this point, the most avant-garde thing anyone could wear to the Met Gala is a "Closed for Renovation" sign. It's time to retire this $100,000 costume party.'
Another user compared it to The Hunger Games: 'It's just like in The Hunger Games - everyone else is starving while they're in the Capitol, they're dressing up all "fancy."' One person sarcastically posted: 'The Met Gala: Where "fashion" goes to die and billionaires pretend they have souls. Every first Monday in May, the world's most overrated charity cosplay event rolls out the blood-red carpet for a bunch of multimillionaires to LARP as avant-garde artists while the rest of us watch from our couches like it's the world's most expensive train wreck. This isn't a gala, it's a hostage situation where good taste is held ransom by egomaniacs in tinfoil and feathers.'
