Hundreds of bottles of 'urine' hidden in Met Museum before Gala in Jeff Bezos protest
Every year, the Met Gala delivers something to talk about, but this year, tucked alongside the couture, the celebrities and the $75,000 ticket price someone went and hid 300 miniature bottles of fake wee around one of the world's most prestigious museums.
Honestly, it might be the most avant-garde thing there.
Every year fashion's biggest night produces one image that defines it, and while Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez were busy playing dress up at their $75,000-a-ticket party, somebody was quietly tucking 300 little bottles of fake piss between the priceless artworks.
The bottles have Jeff Bezos's face on them. Each one read: "Boycott the Bezos Met Gala."
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And while the liquid inside was thankfully just water and yellow food colouring, the message behind them was anything but harmless.
Fashion's biggest night has always attracted controversy, but this year the temperature is already running high long before anyone sets foot on the carpet.
Will New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attend the Met Gala?
When it was announced that Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and wife, Lauren Sanchez, had reportedly spent an eight-figure sum to become honorary co-chairs and lead sponsors of the event, the backlash was immediate and loud.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly refused to attend, breaking with the tradition that Mayors attend the event.
Meryl Streep, whose new film The Devil Wears Prada 2 put her front and centre of fashion conversations this week, reportedly turned down a co-chair invitation.
Zendaya, seven years a Met Gala Staple and one of its most celebrated presences, sits this one out too.
Activists have been plastering subway stations and streets across Manhattan and Brooklyn with boycott posters for weeks, now some have decided posters weren't enough.
Who was behind the Met Gala wee protest?
UK-based activist group Everyone Hates Elon planted the bottles throughout the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 30 April, three days before the gala.
The stunt was a direct reference to longstanding allegations about Amazon's treatment of its warehouse and delivery workers, reported by Forbes, who have been forced to urinate in bottles during shifts because they aren't given adequate time for toilet breaks.
Amazon denied these claims when confronted publicly, inviting people to come and view working conditions.
Speaking to UNILAD, Everyone Hates Elon said: "Tonight's Met Gala will be brought to you by the taxes Jeff Bezos didn't pay.
"By worker exploitation. By contracts with ICE and the Israeli military.
"Shame on every A-lister that attends. We have been plastering the city with posters and projections to show there can be no red carpet for Trump's billionaires."
Their anger didn't stop there, as they posted on Instagram: "Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is chairing the Met Gala this Monday.
"His own workers sued him for being forced to piss in bottles, while Jeff is worth $280m.
"So while the Met Museum gets ready for his glitzy do, we delivered them OVER 300 bottles of piss.
"Fake piss, obviously, Jeff's only into the real stuff."
They went on to add that: "The Met Gala is taking the piss by having Jeff honoured as their Gala host."
What other stunts have Everyone Hates Elon pulled?
This isn't Everyone Hates Elon's first rodeo.
When Bezos married Lauren Sanchez in Venice, the group unfurled a banner over the canal reading: "If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax."
In February 2026, the hung a photograph of Price Andrew in the Louvre with the caption "He's sweating now", timed with his ongoing legal troubles.
Theyv'e also targeted Amazons contracts with ICE through poster campaigns featuring tear gas canisters on red carpets and the line: "Brought to you by worker exploitation."
Everyone Hates Elon have been approached for comment..
Topics: Met Gala, Jeff Bezos, Fashion, Art
Thomas Bamford