The Met Gala hasn\u2019t even hit the red carpet \u2014 and it\u2019s already soaked in controversy.<\/p>\n
Staff at the Metropolitan Museum of Art discovered hundreds of bottles filled with what appeared to be urine hidden inside the venue ahead of fashion\u2019s biggest night<\/a>, in a grotesque protest aimed at this year\u2019s high-profile co-chair<\/a>, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.<\/p>\n The shocking stunt \u2014 tied to allegations that Amazon warehouse workers feel forced to pee in bottles, rather than take bathroom breaks \u2014 comes as backlash over the billionaire\u2019s involvement in the glitzy fundraiser<\/a> has reached a fever pitch across New York City.<\/p>\n Everyone Hates Elon, a self-described anti-billionaire group backed by roughly 1,000 global donors, has spent days ramping up its campaign against Bezos and the Met Gala\u2019s corporate ties. Everyone Hates Elon \/ SWNS<\/p>\n At the center of the outrage is activist collective Everyone Hates Elon, a self-described anti-billionaire group funded by roughly 1,000 donors worldwide, which has spent days escalating its campaign against Bezos and the Met Gala\u2019s corporate ties.<\/p>\n In a statement accompanying its latest stunt<\/a>, the group said: \u201cAmazon founder and oligarch Jeff Bezos just finished his Met Gala pre-party at his penthouse and is getting ready for the big night.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n They added, \u201cWe couldn\u2019t let him get away with using celebrity and fashion to hide his crimes. We\u2019re exposing them instead.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the group, \u201chundreds of piss bottles\u201d were placed throughout the museum \u2014 alongside signs and installations designed to mock conditions faced by Amazon workers.<\/p>\n One particularly inflammatory display labeled a cluster of plastic bottles as a \u201cMet Gala VIP toilet,\u201d with signage reading<\/a>: \u201cInstalled in honor of Met Gala chair Jeff Bezos. Go ahead, it\u2019s good enough for his staff.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff Bezos and Lauren S\u00e1nchez Bezos\u2019 big Met Gala moment is already leaking \u2014 with hundreds of bottles of alleged urine making the loudest statement. Bruce Glikas\/WireImage<\/p>\n Baskets of empty bottles were also reportedly left outside the museum, encouraging passersby to use them \u2014 a jarring visual meant to underscore claims about warehouse labor conditions.<\/p>\n The group has repeatedly alleged that Amazon workers are sometimes forced to urinate in bottles<\/a> due to punishing schedules and limited bathroom access<\/a> \u2014 accusations the company has previously acknowledged as part of broader logistical challenges, while disputing the framing.<\/p>\n Amazon has said<\/a> restroom access issues are an \u201cindustry-wide problem\u201d tied to delivery routes and traffic conditions, adding that it has \u201cworked to address\u201d the concerns.<\/p>\n Still, the optics of Bezos \u2014 worth an estimated fortune that routinely puts him at the center of billionaires-and-bad-behavior debates \u2014 co-chairing fashion\u2019s most exclusive night has proven too much for critics to ignore.<\/p>\n In the days leading up to the gala, protest messaging has been splashed across the city, including posters outside a boarded-up deli showing what appears to be a urine-filled bottle staged on a red carpet under flashing cameras.<\/p>\n One message read: \u201cBoycott the Bezos Met Gala. Brought to you by worker exploitation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Activists also projected messages onto Bezos\u2019 Fifth Avenue residence and some of New York\u2019s most iconic landmarks, including the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building, urging a boycott of what they called \u201cbillionaire-backed fashion theater.\u201d<\/p>\n Fashion insiders, meanwhile, have been quietly split over the growing backlash \u2014 with critics questioning the optics of philanthropy-heavy galas bankrolled by ultra-wealthy corporate figures.<\/p>\n Bezos and his wife, Lauren S\u00e1nchez Bezos, were named honorary co-chairs and lead sponsors of this year\u2019s event in February, reportedly contributing millions to secure their involvement.<\/p>\n As previously reported by The Post, fashion\u2019s most gilded night comes with a less glamorous reality: bathroom logistics.<\/a><\/p>\n As many protest messages put it bluntly, the red carpet is no longer just about couture \u2014 it\u2019s about conflict. And this year, the Met Gala is arriving with a very unglamorous stain. Everyone Hates Elon \/ SWNS<\/p>\n At a soiree where guests are zipped, stitched, sculpted and suctioned into couture, using the bathroom becomes a full-scale operation \u2014 requiring planning, assistance and, often, dehydration.<\/p>\n For many attendees, it\u2019s not a quick trip to the stall but a production: gowns are fully removed, sometimes left pooled on the floor, while assistants manage fabric, timing and damage control.<\/p>\n Celebrity PA Network founder Brian Daniel told the Washington Post<\/a> that many stars rely on personal assistants for exactly this reason, with some even assigning trusted staff specifically for wardrobe and bathroom logistics.\u00a0<\/p>\n While event \u201cfreebie assistants\u201d may help in public, the more intimate work is usually reserved for people in a celebrity\u2019s inner circle.<\/p>\n Some designers try to get ahead of the issue with hidden \u201ctrap doors\u201d or discreet openings built into gowns, allowing for quick relief without a full costume teardown \u2014 though even that only goes so far once beading, latex or layered construction enters the equation.<\/p>\n Celebrities, in short, improvise. Katy Perry has spoken about relying on serious \u201cself-control\u201d and a standing-urination device called GoGirl, while Winnie Harlow recalled Perry once helping her in a bathroom stall. <\/p>\n Others have taken more extreme measures: Kim Kardashian has admitted she\u2019s considered \u201cpeeing her pants\u201d under restrictive looks, while Kendall Jenner once used an ice bucket in a sprinter van<\/a> en route to the event.<\/p>\n For many guests, the safest strategy is avoidance \u2014 skipping liquids entirely in the hours before the carpet, trading comfort for couture integrity.<\/p>\n So while the Met Gala debates couture and controversy, the most universal challenge remains unchanged: What to do when nature calls in a $10,000 dress.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t