What to Know
Who could have predicted that Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez‘s attempt at rubbing elbows with the Hollywood elite at the Met Gala wouldn’t work? Well, pretty much everyone outside of that bubble. And now, the billionaire couple is reportedly being iced out by people they tried to become BFFs with and even invited to their glamorous and over-the-top Italy wedding.
In case you forgot, big names like Sydney Sweeney, Kim Kardashian, and Leonardo DiCaprio were seen arriving at the couple’s wedding celebration in 2025. But now, after Bezos and Sánchez became honorary chairs and leaders of the 2026 Met Gala, they are reportedly on the outs with A-listers. So much for the couple getting to be besties with the top players in the entertainment world.
Their $10 million Met Gala donation was kind of a bust.
The #MetGala was lacking this year, partly due to its transformation into the “Bezos Ball” as Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos spent “at least” $10 million to sponsor the night and serve as honorary chairs.
— Variety (@Variety) May 5, 2026
The red carpet, at any given moment, looked like a poorly constructed… pic.twitter.com/aVnyVhxcgF
According to Rob Shuter’s Substack, celebrities are turning their backs on Bezos and Sánchez after their attempt at essentially buying their way into Hollywood. The couple reportedly donated at least $10 million to the Met Gala that they attended and led in 2026. But that wasn’t enough for everyone to automatically accept them into the many inner circles of Hollywood.
One insider said, per the Substack, “Too many celebrities, too much noise, too much desperation to go viral. People are finally admitting the formula no longer works.” And yes, that goes for Sánchez and Bezos too.
For some, it was quite literally Bezos and Sánchez’s fault that the yearly event suddenly appeared more billionaire-centered and “corporate” than ever. Mind you, this is an event that is a fundraiser for the arts and for the New York City museum. But people saw Sánchez and Bezos’ involvement as detrimental to the actual cause.
“Jeff and Lauren shattered the illusion that the Met Gala is still the most exclusive invitation on earth,” another insider said, per the Substack blog. “Suddenly the Met looked overexposed, corporate, and oddly outdated.”
Lauren Sánchez really wants in on the Hollywood inner circles.
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez slammed for “worst Met Gala ever” with critics branding the event ‘tacky’ and ‘gross.’
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 5, 2026
Critics have called the event a ‘circus’ while others blasted the couple, who co-chaired the event, for turning it into a ‘billionaires ball.’
Source: Daily Mail pic.twitter.com/H8fqH7i7el
It’s no secret that Sánchez in particular seems to want to be part of the entertainment world by becoming close to A-list celebrities. And hey, maybe she does have one foot in the door already. But for some, all that money doesn’t necessarily buy you acceptance. And just because Sánchez and Bezos invited tons of actors and other people in the entertainment world to their wedding, it doesn’t mean they are actually close friends.
As one user put it on Reddit, “Do they just invite other rich people? I cannot imagine these people being friends.”
To that, some responded, of Bezos, “He’s a total celeb worshipper, it tracks that he invited anyone famous he could.”
Someone also pointed out that, technically, some celebrities work for Bezos.
“This is what more people need to understand, Bezos also owns Amazon Prime, making him a media mogul as well,” a Redditor commented on the post. “Obviously, he’s gonna invite celebrities who basically work for him.”
Billionaires are losing in the popularity game.
There might have been a time when everyone wanted in on being friends with billionaires. But now, at a time when the “is vs. them” mentality is stronger than ever, there is a general shift happening. So unfortunately for Sánchez, that means her aspirations to be rich, powerful, and loved by famous people might not be in the cards.
On another Reddit post about billionaires and their general mindset from the perspective of everyday people, a user wrote, “And this is why billionaires shouldn’t exist. They’ve completely lost touch with reality AND basic humanity.”
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