'He can pay his taxes': Greg Casar slams Jeff Bezos amid Met Gala 2026 row

Amid the Met Gala controversy surrounding Jeff Bezos' sponsorship, several Democrats have criticized the Amazon founder, questioning his tax liabilities and his company's layoff decisions. Rep. Greg Casar claimed that the Amazon boss had given $40 million to the President to fund the Melania documentary, and "Trump cut his taxes by $8 billion." Casar said that if Bezos spent $10 million on the Met Gala, "he can pay his taxes."

Senator Elizabeth Warren echoed similar sentiments, claiming that Bezos could pay his taxes if he could spend $10 million on the Met Gala. Sen. Bernie Sanders contrasted Bezos's spending with the company's alleged downsizing plans. Listing out a set of the Amazon founder's expenses, Sanders said, "Meanwhile, he's planning to throw 600,000 Amazon workers out on the streets and replace them with robots. Unacceptable."

Bezos' involvement in this year's Met Gala has invited criticism from several celebrities, and many high-profile stars have taken a stand by either publicly condemning the sponsorship or quietly boycotting the event altogether. Calls for a boycott of the event raged amid a surging anti-rich sentiment nationwide and in New York City, the event's liberal home. The outrage seemingly gained momentum after NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would skip the gala. Mamdani said he would not attend the event to focus on "affordability and making the most expensive city in the United States affordable," as per a New York Times report.

In the weeks leading up to the event, anti-Bezos campaigns erupted in the streets, subways, and online, with people calling the event the "Amazon Prime Gala" or "Bezos Ball." Activists in New York City installed posters of the Amazon boss dressed as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent and urged people to "boycott the Bezos Met Gala."

Political commentator Jennifer Welch slammed celebrities who attended the event, given the issues the country was facing. "Every single attendee of that Met Gala will always be remembered for this moment. This moment when American citizens are getting shot. This moment when everybody is laundering the image of our dementia-ridden, Weekend at Bernie's president who is just so morally depraved, psychotic, and idiotic," she said. Earlier in January, Bezos's company had cut 16,000 jobs. Bezos also laid off several employees from the Washington Post after acquiring the news agency.