With fashion’s biggest stars descending on New York for the 2026 Met Gala, the night was almost derailed when a protestor breached the security barrier at the entrance just as Heidi Klum began climbing the famous steps.
Although security is typically airtight, the intruder’s sudden dash caused a brief jolt among those arriving.
Staff reacted immediately, bringing the protestor to the ground and taking them into custody before they could get anywhere near the carpeted area.
The interruption was short-lived, but the attempted breach is likely to prompt even tighter safeguards for the remainder of the evening.
In the days leading up to the gala, demonstrations were already said to be on the cards due to the event’s headline sponsorship from Jeff Bezos.
After Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez, were confirmed as funders in February, criticism arrived quickly, with an energetic anti-Bezos movement appearing across streets, subway platforms, and online in the run-up to the event.
Earlier on the same day, a video was reportedly projected onto his New York penthouse showing an unhappy Amazon worker urging fairer treatment for staff at the company.
For some observers, the sponsorship threatened to eclipse the gala’s purpose: raising money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. That backlash led critics to label it the ‘Amazon Prime Gala’ or ‘Bezos Ball.’
Unsurprisingly, access to the most in-demand date on the fashion calendar commands a steep price.
For guests who make the cut—ultimately approved by former Vogue editor Anna Wintour—an individual ticket is said to cost about $75,000, representing a 50 percent jump from 2023.
Even so, many high-profile attendees aren’t the ones paying directly.
Fashion houses and designers typically purchase tables—reportedly around $350,000—and then fill the seats with celebrities, often dressing them in the brand’s looks for the night.
At its core, the Met Gala functions as a fundraising event for the Costume Institute at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, meaning the huge sums brought in help support exhibitions, new acquisitions, and the department’s ongoing operating costs.