Staff at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York found hundreds of bottles seemingly filled with “fake” urine prior to the start of the 2026 Met Gala.
Fashion’s biggest night kicked off with the discovery of the urine-themed protest aimed at the co-chair of this year’s glitzy event, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, according to the New York Post. The stunt is believed to be tied to allegations that Amazon warehouse workers feel it necessary to pee in bottles due to grueling schedules and limited bathroom access. Activist group Everyone Hates Elon claimed they deployed more than 300 bottles of “fake piss” at the Metropolitan Museum in a May 1 statement.
Met Gala protestors place hundreds of bottles of urine inside museum in gross slam of Jeff Bezos https://t.co/3S86UysS3G pic.twitter.com/7J6CREvooC
— New York Post (@nypost) May 4, 2026
The bottles contained labels with messages such as “Boycott the Bezos Met Gala” written on them, according to the New York Post.
“Amazon founder and oligarch Jeff Bezos just finished his Met Gala pre-party at his penthouse and is getting ready for the big night,” Everyone Hates Elon said in a statement, the outlet reported.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 15: (L-R) Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos attend the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Mark Guiducci at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on March 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
“We couldn’t let him get away with using celebrity and fashion to hide his crimes. We’re exposing them instead.”
The group said they placed “hundreds of piss bottles” throughout the museum, as well as signs and props mocking the work conditions of Amazon warehouse employees.
A plastic bottle display was arranged to represent at “Met Gala VIP toilet” and included a sign that read, “installed in honor of Met Gala chair Jeff Bezos. Go ahead, it’s good enough for his staff,” according to a post by the group
Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos and spouse Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel on the third day of their wedding festivities, in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
Empty bottles were reportedly placed in baskets outside of the museum encouraging people in the area to use them.
Amazon previously addressed their restroom issues as being an “industry-wide problem” connected to delivery routes and traffic issues, and claimed to be working toward a solution.
Activists against Jeff Bezos hide ‘urine’ bottles at the Met Gala https://t.co/noYyNXrZhG
— Detroit Free Press (@freep) May 4, 2026
Protestors targeted Bezos ahead of the Met Gala with posters that read “Boycott the Bezos Met Gala. Brought to you by worker exploitation,” according to the New York Post. Messages were reportedly projected on Bezos’ residence New York and some of the city’s most iconic landmarks such as Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building, urging a boycott of “billionaire-backed fashion theater.” (RELATED: REPORT: Police Arrest Apparent Anti-Bezos Protestor As Chaos Erupts On Met Gala Red Carpet)
Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, were named honorary co-chairs of the 2026 Met Gala, and are believed to have contributed millions to the haute-couture Hollywood event.