The Met Gala has been hit with a revolting protest as staff discovered bottles of ‘urine’ inside the venue just hours before fashion’s biggest night.
Hundreds of containers of yellow liquid are believed to have been hidden throughout the Metropolitan Museum of Art, next to priceless artifacts.
Backlash over this year’s controversial Met Gala has ramped up across New York City, with protests reaching a fever pitch on Monday.
Fury has been growing over the involvement of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, 62, and his wife Lauren Sanchez, 56, who have bankrolled much of the event.
In the last 24 hours, activists have employed disgusting maneuvers in a last-ditch attempt at a boycott.
Baskets containing plastic water bottles were also 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 was employed in a bid to draw attention to Amazon’s treatment of its workers.
The involvement of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez in this year’s Met Gala has been met with backlash
More than 300 bottles of fake ‘urine’ are said to have been hidden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Everyone Hates Elon, the campaign group behind the stunt, claims employees at Bezos’s corporation have been forced to urinate in bottles because they are not allowed time to take toilet breaks.
On Sunday, protest messages were projected onto Bezos’s apartment block as well as the city’s biggest landmarks, including the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building.
‘Boycott the Bezos Met Gala,’ read one of the projections, while another said, ‘no red carpet for Trump’s billionaires.’
Video messages from Amazon workers were also emblazoned onto Bezos’s penthouse on Fifth Avenue, where he reportedly hosted a pre-Met Gala party.
Again, the stunt was organized by the anti-billionaire campaign group, funded by 1,000 donors worldwide, and supported by current and former Amazon workers.
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.
The stunts have been pulled off by the anti-billionaire group Everyone Hates Elon, funded by 1,000 donors worldwide
Empty water bottles appeared outside the Met along with a poster that said ‘Met Gala VIP toilet’
Activists projected protest messages onto Bezos’s apartment block on the eve of the Met Gala
Projections were also cast across the Chrysler Building (above) and Empire State Building
Amazon previously faced accusations that its workers were forced to urinate in bottles in 2021.
At the time, they said they were aware of the issues.
‘We know that drivers can and do have trouble finding restrooms because of traffic or sometimes rural routes, and this has been especially the case during Covid when many public restrooms have been closed,’ a spokesperson said.
They added the problem was ‘a long-standing, industry-wide issue’ and that they ‘would like to solve it’.
Bezos and Sanchez were announced as honorary co-chairmen and lead sponsors of this year’s Met Gala in February.
Some fashion enthusiasts consider the quid pro quo a stain on the affair, which originally highlighted philanthropy.
It has been claimed they shelled out $10 million to get in on the event.
Backlash over this year’s Met Gala started to build weeks ago, when protest posters were pasted on the boarded-up entrance of the now-closed Daona Deli.
The giant posters bore two very bold messages. The first showed what appeared to be a plastic water bottle filled with urine on a red carpet in front of flashing camera lights.
‘The Bezos Met Gala,’ the sign read. ‘Brought to you by worker exploitation.’
A large, bright red poster next to it displayed an even more scathing message in bold white letters, reading, ‘Boycott the Bezos Met Gala.’
Underneath, in smaller font, the poster shared a message that said: ‘There’s no dressing it up.
Last month, posters encouraging a boycott of the event were put up in Midtown, New York City
Anna Wintour is co-chairman of this year’s Met Gala along with Beyonce, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams
‘Met Gala chair Jeff Bezos avoids tax, enables ICE, and backs Trump. Don’t let him get away with it.’
This year’s Met Gala theme is Costume Art and the dress code is Fashion is Art.
Anna Wintour is a co-chair of this year’s event along with Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams.
Bezos and Sanchez’s names appear on the invitations and it has been reported they will get to sit with close pal Kris Jenner, whom they invited to their summer wedding in Venice, Italy, last year.