Anna Wintour has stepped forward to defend Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez, following the backlash against their sponsorship of the 2026 Met Gala. The news of the multi-billionaire Amazon founder, currently the third richest man in the world, along with his TV host-turned-philanthropist wife, serving as the lead sponsors for the 2026 gala and funding the accompanying exhibition at the Met’s Costume Institute, drew immediate criticism online. Critics argued that the newlyweds, who got married in Italy in June, shouldn’t be involved in art and fashion, despite their wealth. Others made jokes about attendees ordering their outfits via Amazon’s next-day Prime delivery.
However, Wintour, who has famously chaired the Met Gala since 1995, came to their defense. “I think Lauren is going to be a wonderful asset to the museum and to the event,” she recently told CNN. “We’re very grateful for her incredible generosity. And she’s a great lover of costume and obviously of fashion. So we’re thrilled she’s part of the night.”
When the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the theme of the Met Gala and accompanying exhibition, “Costume Art,” many people criticized the institution for partnering with Bezos and Sanchez. “The most excited I have ever been for a MET… until sponsored by Bezos appears,” one commented on the museum’s Instagram post last week. Another added: “The Metropolitan Museum of Art, SOLD!!! to the highest bidder. How distasteful.”
The latest joint venture for Bezos and Sanchez, who tied the knot in a lavish Venice wedding this summer, won’t come cheap. Last year’s Gala cost around $6 million, although that sum is small change when their estimated net worth sits somewhere around $250 billion.
With its theme, the costume exhibition will pair garments with objects from across the museum to show how fashion has long been intertwined with different art forms. The connections that will be drawn between artworks and garments will range from the formal to the conceptual, the aesthetic to the political, the individual to the universal, the illustrative to the symbolic, and the playful to the profound.
In June, Wintour stepped down as US Vogue’s editor-in-chief after leading the publication for 37 years, with editor Chloe Malle taking her place. However, Wintour will remain as Condé Nast’s global chief content officer and Vogue’s global editorial director, keeping her in charge of next year’s Met Gala.
