What to Know
Somewhere between Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroe’s dress to the 2022 Met Gala and Jeff Bezos and his wife being huge donors for the 2026 event, the fundraiser became something to add to the ‘us against them’ mentality. As in, the rich against the normies. But when Sarah Paulson showed up at the 2026 Met Gala with a look that offered commentary on that, it didn’t get her the exact response she was probably hoping for.
Because, uh, why were you even there, sis? Sure, she showed up to walk the carpet before the event and wear a dress and mask that were meant to address the idea of billionaires being part of the art fundraising world. But, as users shared their thoughts on a Reddit thread about Paulson’s choice, it became apparent that her stunt wasn’t as well-received as she might have hoped.
Attending the Met Gala is no longer about art.
the met gala doesn’t work without sarah jessica parker because they need at least one person who is truly just there because they want to see the museum exhibit
— Tom Smyth (@Tom_Smyth_) May 4, 2026
The Met Gala had always been about the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Money still goes to the organization, but we’d be kidding ourselves if we thought celebrities were still focused on that when tickets for them are around $100,000 to attend the event where they can showcase new looks based on the year’s theme.
When users on Reddit commented on Paulson’s dress and mask at the 2026 event, others shared what the bigger picture is. To them, people have lost sight of what the Met Gala even is. Some don’t even know that it’s a fundraiser for the arts.
“It’s incredibly, inexcusably gross,” someone commented, in reference to Paulson’s look. “There’s a reason why we are calling this the second Gilded Age in my field.”
Sarah Paulson’s Met Gala mask was overshadowed by the fact that she attended the event.
Sarah Paulson wears dollar bill over her eyes to call out the ‘One Percent.’
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 5, 2026
The actress, who is worth an estimated $12 million, used her outfit to call out the world’s elite while attending the $100,000 per person Met Gala. pic.twitter.com/jWfIPdtWTn
Paulson showed up at the Met Gala with an elaborate gown and a dollar bill on her face as a mask. It seemed to offer unspoken commentary on money being at the root of the event, or of the country in general. And, OK, sure, that’s all well and good. But people were quick to blast it as “performative” and a bit juvenile. Plus, Paulson was at the event. She attended. The little protest of sorts is kind of voided at that point.
“This is also offensively trite,” a user wrote in the comments of the Reddit post. ‘Oooohhh a dollar bill covering your eyes?! F—ing groundbreaking. It’s self-aggrandizing faux symbolism that would be more appropriate for a middle school art project.”
The same user added that it’s ‘infuriating, embarrassing, and deeply tragic witnessing people’s class consciousness just leave their body when a white woman wears a dress.”
Another wrote, in reference to Paulson being at the event, “It’s like buying the puppy to save it from the mill.”
“I just can’t help but feel gross when looking at this knowing how much the world is struggling,” another Redditor added.
A lot of the rich and famous were judged for going to the Met Gala.
Paulson isn’t the only celebrity who faced scrutiny because of her attendance at the Met Gala. Bezos, the billionaire behind Amazon, is part of the 1% in a country where billionaires are literally running the government or rubbing elbows with politicians. Going to the Met Gala during a year where Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez, were donors and honorary chairs means celebrities are seemingly agreeing that they stand with Bezos. According to Reddit, anyway.
“I was getting so downvoted in another sub for saying it’s OK to judge some of these rich and famous folks for choosing to go to the Met Gala,” someone commented. “I didn’t say cancel it, I didn’t even say you have to care about it. But stop trying to defend and justify these people for their own choices to break bread with Jeff Bezos. Own your apathy, but don’t bend over backwards to defend people who do have a bit more influence in the world.”
The Met is about raising money for the arts. At its core, the cause is still important. But the fanfare with celebrities, and now billionaires who have nothing to do with the creative industry, is too much for some.
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