To the editor: I cannot think of anything that depicts the growing chasm between the 1% and the rest of American society than this year’s Met Gala (“This year’s Met Gala proved one thing: The real devil who wears Prada is Jeff Bezos,” May 5). While millionaires and billionaires dressed to impress, a majority of Americans are dealing with growing energy, medical insurance and housing costs. Each month, more and more families are having to choose what bills to pay or not pay.
With a government more interested in regime change overseas than the cost of living, Monday night’s event reminds us of just how out of touch America’s elite is with the challenges of the people.
Tom Iannucci, Eugene, Ore.
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To the editor: Holding a lavish fundraiser for a cultural force like New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute may seem tone-deaf to some, myself included. But allowing Jeff Bezos to sponsor it unambiguously sends the wrong message generally about the freedom of artistic expression when one considers what he has done to the free press.
Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post, famously resisted inappropriate political pressure to skew coverage of the first Trump administration, refusing to interfere with his paper’s objective reporting. Since the president’s return to the Oval Office, however, Bezos’ actions have betrayed the notion of independent journalism.
He ordered the opinion section of the Post to focus on “personal liberties and free markets,” which was interpreted by many to dissuade criticism of the president and his administration, amounting to unnecessary and dangerous censorship of viewpoints. Several high-profile journalists left in disgust. Was he that concerned about retribution by the president upon his business empire for unflattering news coverage?
A man of almost unlimited financial resources with a net worth estimated at $266 billion or more, Bezos recently chose to lay off more than 300 journalists, gutting critical divisions of the storied paper. He also spiked the editorial board’s presidential endorsement for then-vice president Kamala Harris during the runup to the 2024 election, breaking with tradition.
While many reputable newspapers (including the Los Angeles Times) declined to endorse in the 2024 election, Bezos is no longer seen as a champion of the First Amendment and represents a poor choice to celebrate this world-renowned cultural institution.
Anthony Arnaud, Laguna Niguel
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To the editor: I will never be invited to the Met Gala. Whatever. But I’ve enjoyed seeing the costumes and reading about the event immensely.
That was then. It’s dead to me now. It can be bought. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos? Seriously? Who’s invited next year, Mark Zuckerberg?
Marty Foster, Oxnard