Outside the Met Gala, protesters built a red carpet of their own — one made for satire, protest and anti-oligarch theater.
As celebrities arrived for the Met Gala on Monday night, Rise and Resist staged a “Resistance Red Carpet” outside the event, turning fashion spectacle into political performance.
Participants used handmade costumes, fake money, masks, signs and theatrical poses to protest billionaire influence, climate greenwashing, labor abuse and authoritarian politics.
Resistance Red Carpet · Outside the Met Gala · May 4, 2026
The protest framed the Met Gala as a symbol of excess, while participants used red carpet theatrics to call attention to climate issues, Amazon labor concerns and tax-the-rich messaging.
“The action turned red carpet spectacle into a public critique of wealth, power and image-making.”
Climate, Labor and Wealth
Signs targeted Jeff Bezos, Amazon labor conditions and the concentration of wealth. One costume listed workplace concerns including “unsafe working conditions,” “Abuse of warehouse workers” and “Ergonomic Hazards.”
Other messages read “TAX THE RICH,” “FUCK BEZOS,” “RESIST” and “BEZOS GREENWASHES HIS CLIMATE CRIMES.”
Costume, satire and protest signage shaped the sidewalk action outside the gala.
Costume became the language of dissent.
Participants posed as billionaires, clowns, masked figures and red carpet guests, using fake cash, veils, boas, cigars and handmade props to satirize elite culture.
The result was part protest, part street theater — and fully aimed at the spectacle unfolding nearby.
A Red Carpet Rewritten
Instead of celebrity arrivals, the Resistance Red Carpet centered political messages, handmade fashion and public performance.
The images carry much of the story: anger, humor, craft and theater pressed into one sidewalk protest outside one of New York’s most watched cultural events.
Large “Tax the Rich” letters appeared throughout the action.
Costume, satire and protest met on the sidewalk outside one of New York’s most visible red carpets.
