Left-leaning 'Late Night' host Seth Meyers faced the ire of his own fanbase this week for attending this year's Met Gala. Meyers, 52, was specifically mocked for a red-carpet exchange with a Variety reporter who flat-out asked why he had decided to attend.
'Well, I- you know, when you have spider brooches, where else in the city are you going to wear 'em on a night like tonight?' Meyers joked. 'And so, uh, ultimately, I let them make the choice.'
The event was sponsored by billionaire Trump ally Jeff Bezos. Progressives promptly unloaded on Meyers, given he himself is an outspoken Trump critic. The absence of other late-night hosts made his non-answer all the more infuriating.
One frustrated X user wrote: 'Lame answer covering a lame excuse for attending the Bezos Bootlicker kitscheria.' A Redditor called Meyers's response 'embarrassing and cowardly', while another panned Meyers as a 'Temu Jimmy Fallon' - or a cheap or pale substitute. 'Grow a f**king spine and if you're going to participate in something like this, at least have the guts to call them out when directly asked,' the same internet user wrote.
Another critic scathed: 'Yeah, wild to be so boisterous when behind a camera reading words other people wrote for you, but no morals or even a point of view in reality.'
The general consensus was that Meyers was a hypocrite, given the hundreds of citizens who staged a 'Resistance Red Carpet' protest right on Fifth Avenue outside over a reported $10 million gift from Bezos and wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos to the gala's organizers and his past protests toward the president's policies. Both were present, as was the gala's lead chairperson and host, Anna Wintour.
A source close to the event told the Daily Mail Tuesday that Meyers had been a guest of Wintour's. '[He] was there to support the museum as he has always done,' the source said. Also in attendance was Wintour's 38-year-old daughter Katherine 'Bee' Shaffer, who previously worked on Meyers's show for three years. She worked as a segment producer from the show's launch in February 2014 until 2017. Before that, Shaffer worked an assistant at CollegeHumor. She is currently a Broadway producer.
Sánchez Bezos was seen schmoozing with Wintour at the event. She tied the knot with the billionaire in an exclusive ceremony in Venice last June. Others in attendance included Nicole Kidman, Beyoncé, and Venus Williams. Holdouts included Meryl Streep, Miley Cyrus, and Olivia Rodrigo.
The Daily Mail contacted NBC for comment about Meyers' attendance. The comic is a 25-year NBC vet, initially a cast member on Saturday Night Live. He succeeded Fallon as the host of 'Late Night' in 2014, after the latter was named the host of the Tonight Show. The NBC star, much like CBS's Stephen Colbert and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel, is a frequent critic of the president. He attended the event with his wife, Alexi Ashe Meyers.
