As the dust settles on the 2026 Met Gala, fans have been left aghast at the dramatic shift in tone for the annual fashion event.
Anna Wintour, chair of the Met Gala since 1995, was joined this year by controversial co-hosts, after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos were named as lead sponsors and honorary chairs.
And Lauren left her mark on the gala, with many onlookers calling out the ‘tacky’ entertainment that opened the New York City event.
Lauren took prime position beside former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna and co-chair Nicole Kidman as the carpet at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Museum of Art was officially opened.
The trio were greeted with a performance from actor and singer Joshua Henry, who along with a 12-person choir, belted out a rendition of I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston.
In video captured by the Daily Mail, Lauren was seen dancing along to the performance, whilst even Anna broke out into a sway.
The 2026 Met Gala has been dubbed the Amazon Prime Gala by fans as video of host Lauren Sanchez’s ‘mom dancing’ was declared as the final nail in the coffin for the event
Fans were soon poking fun at Lauren’s moves and the style of entertainment for the ball, which costs $75,000 for a single ticket, with one declaring that it was ‘the farewell party for Anna Wintour’s credibility’.
‘So cheesy …literally a show only for 3 people haha,’ added another as many asked ‘do they normally do this??’
‘It’s so over. Couldn’t be more over,’ agreed another.
Others compared the upbeat performance to ‘High School Musical’ and ‘a cruise ship cover band’.
‘Looks like the cool kids need to start a new event. This one is donnnnne,’ declared another commentator on Instagram.
The night didn’t get much better, as devastated fans took to social media to blast the gala as the ‘worst’ one ever, slamming the ‘cheap’ outfits and sharing their outrage over the ‘tacky’ guest list.
The event was noticeably missing many big names who had previously become Met Gala regulars, like Zendaya and Billie Eilish, and instead, was attended by an array of social media stars, WAGs, models and heiresses.
Plenty of the stars who did show up got it spectacularly wrong, turning the red carpet into a parade of sartorial disasters and outright fashion flops.
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Was this the worst Met Gala yet – or are fans just nostalgic for the old days?
Lauren, Anna, and Nicole Kidman were greeted with a performance from actor Joshua Henry, who along with a 12-person choir, belted out a rendition of I Wanna Dance With Somebody
Some of the famous faces at this year’s event 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 it seemed there were more Z-list celebrities than there were A-list, as other attendees included Cristiano Ronaldo’s model fiancée Georgina Rodríguez, influencer Grace Ann Nader – her older sister, Sports Illustrated model Brooks Nader was absent – and Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng’s heiress daughters, Grace and Chloe.
When it came to billionaires, there were plenty, including Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, billionaire Isha Ambani, George Soros’ sons Alex Soros and Robert Soros, Walmart heir S Robson Walton and venture capitalist and author Amy Griffin.
A fashion industry insider told the Daily Mail ahead of the event that the Bezoses being a part of it ‘felt like a real slap in the face to a lot of people’.
‘It’s, quite frankly, very hurtful and very disturbing for [the Bezoses] to be the face of this year’s Met Gala, something that is really meaningful to a lot of people and to such a highly regarded and highly respected institution,’ the source said.
In video captured by the Daily Mail, a giddy Lauren was seen clearly enjoying the performance, dancing along to the music, but Met Gala fans were left shocked by the change of tone
Amazon billionaire Bezos notably skipped the red carpet after allegedly paying $10million to co-chair.
Meanwhile Anna will have already started work on next year’s gala.
Andrew Bolton, chief curator for the museum’s Costume Institute for which the gala fundraises, revealed in an interview last week that his phone rings ‘like clockwork’ at 8.30am the morning after every gala.
Anna, Vogue’s global editorial director and Met Gala host who personally approves each guest, will say to Bolton: ‘So, Andrew, next year…’
‘Anna is very focused,’ Bolton says. ‘It’s extraordinary.’
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