Amazon Union Founder Chris Smalls Arrested Amid Protests at Met Gala

Amidst the flashing lights and twirling of colorful dresses, Amazon Union Labor founder Chris Smalls was arrested at the Met Gala after he jumped one of the barricades in protest of Jeff Bezos and Amazon’s labor record.

A group of police officers was seen swarming Smalls and tackling him to the ground. The 37 year old male was taken into custody May 4th in the confines of the Central Park Precinct, and is being charged with resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, trespass, disorderly conduct, and failure to obey traffic device.

As this was all happening, figure skater gold medalist Alysa Liu, clearly unbothered, was elegantly walking the red carpet of the event in a custom Louis Vuitton red gown with layers of satin frills. “Tell me about the look,” said reporters as pop culture icons walked up the stairs of the museum.

Smalls’ protest was not unexpected. In a NYC warehouse in 2022, Smalls helped lead the historic campaign for the first recognized union inside an Amazon facility. Organizers fought for eight months to rally for the union effort. They demanded better wages and health and safety protections, while Amazon spent millions on an anti-union campaign. In a similar vein, Smalls’ protest at the Met Gala, among many others from fellow angry activists, is a fight to highlight Bezos’ exploitation of his workers. Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez, are acting as sponsors and honorary chairs of the major fashion event where Vogue chief content officer Anna Wintour has long been its public face.

Smalls wasn’t the only one pushing back against the Gala involvement with Bezos. In the weeks leading up to the event, anti-Bezos posters were displayed all around NYC, and social media comments read “Amazon Prime Gala” and “Bezos Ball”.

The night before the event, activists projected a message of protest against the “Bezos Ball.” In massive white lettering read: “BOYCOTT THE BEZOS MET GALA,” next to a laughing face of Bezos. A guerrilla activist group called Everyone Hates Elon has also been calling for a boycott of the event. Angry by the complaints of Amazon workers of having to skip bathroom breaks and urinate in bottles instead, the group placed nearly 300 bottles of fake urine inside the MET.

The major fashion event is held every year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, with this year’s theme being “costume art”. The exhibition explores clothing as a moving, embodied art form. German-American supermodel Heidi Klum was dressed in a custom foam and latex ensemble inspired by Raffaele Monti’s “Veiled Vestal” sculpture. She appeared like a living marble-like statue with realistic draped fabric that clung to her body like wet paper. Iconic figures such as Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Wintour co-chaired the event.

During a time of high political tension, extravagant events displaying wealth like the MET Gala, are looked down upon by many in the less wealthy set. In New York City an estimated 1 in 4 residents live in poverty.

Current Mayor Zohran Mamdani made the decision not to attend the event, with his declared focus being on affordability in NYC. “The Met Gala is now giving Bezos exactly the kind of reputation laundering and cultural rocket fuel he needs to keep destroying America,” said Cynthia Nixon, actress and activist who ran for New York governor in 2018, to the NYT. “My hat is off to the mayor for not attending.”