Even in an occasion devoted to trend, Rev. Al Sharpton made his voice ring louder than his daring swimsuit jacket on Monday.
After studying that Mayor Zohran Mamdani was skipping the 2026 Met Gala on account of controversy over Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos sponsoring the occasion, Sharpton backed the mayor’s choice to not attend whereas additionally rebuking the billionaire class.
“That’s his choice,” Sharpton mentioned of Mamdani opting out of taking part within the occasion. “I feel – I wished to be right here, we fought for years, and also you’ve lined it higher than anyone — for range. So how may I not be right here to assist Beyoncé and Venus Williams? So, I don’t care how a lot the billionaires have; they’ll’t purchase my seat.”
Beyoncé and Williams are serving because the co-chairs for this 12 months’s occasion alongside Nicole Kidman and Anna Wintour. The theme, “Costume Artwork,” additionally has a gown code, “Vogue Is Artwork.” Sharpton made sure his swimsuit met each necessities as he had golden pinstripes along with his swimsuit. The occasion has change into an annual one for the civil rights activist, who made his Met Gala debut in 2025 the place the theme of the evening was “Superfine: Tailoring Black Fashion,” an ode to Black male dandyism.
“It’s nice to be celebrated on the Met Gala, the premiere gala in trend,” Sharpton mentioned in 2025. “It reveals that we may be dandy and have a good time ourselves even after we’re underneath assault. We won’t be defeated. We won’t return. Take a look at the celebrities and all of us which have come out tonight. I feel André Talley would have been proud. André Leon Talley would have been proud to see us stroll this carpet within the midst of range being underneath assault. We’re nonetheless right here standing sturdy.”
