Olivia Rodrigo Skips the Met Gala, Turns Up at Saint Laurent Afterparty After Liking Anti-Bezos Post

Olivia Rodrigo did not walk the Met Gala red carpet this year. Instead she surfaced at Saint Laurent’s afterparty, a move that read as more than a wardrobe choice after she liked an Instagram clip critical of Jeff Bezos.

The absence was notable but not isolated. Several high-profile figures reportedly balked at the billionaire’s involvement with the gala: Meryl Streep is rumoured to have declined a co-hosting role because of Bezos and Lauren Sánchez, and Zendaya and Zohran Mamdani — who broke a decades-long tradition of New York mayors attending — also did not attend.

Rodrigo, who last walked the Met in 2023, didn’t make a public statement about turning down an invitation, but her social-media activity supplied context. The like was for a video featuring 72-year-old Amazon warehouse worker Mary Hill, who addressed Bezos by name in a short, direct appeal:

“When we struggle from paycheck to paycheck, from week to week, it really angers me because if it weren’t for every associate in every Amazon facility, he wouldn’t have all those zeros behind his name.

“Shame on you, Jeff Bezos. The people that need to be celebrated at the Met Gala are the workers. People like me. We deserve that celebration. We deserve so much more than we’re getting.”

The like is consistent with a streak of public interventions that have separated Rodrigo from the neutral celebrity script. Last November she publicly objected to the use of her music in an ICE advertisement, writing: “Don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda.” The Department of Homeland Security replied, in a terse response carried in coverage, saying: “Ms. Rodrigo thank them for their service, not belittle their sacrifice.”

Rodrigo’s politics have not been confined to social-media skirmishes. She attended anti-ICE protests last June and posted a lengthier statement on social platforms: “I’ve lived in LA my whole life, and I’m deeply upset about these violent deportations of my neighbors under the current administration.

“LA simply wouldn’t exist without immigrants,” she continued. “Treating hardworking community members with such little respect, empathy, and due process is awful. I stand with the beautiful, diverse community of Los Angeles and with immigrants all across America. I stand for our right to freedom of speech and freedom to protest.”

Her activism has tangible philanthropic edges. In 2024 she launched Fund 4 Good, a reproductive-rights initiative, and donated $2 million in ticket sales to global women’s charities. She also contributed a track to the Help(2) charity compilation, which raised funds for War Child.

What it means

Whether or not Rodrigo turned down a Met invitation outright, her presence at the afterparty and the social-media endorsement of a warehouse worker’s appeal reinforces the way younger pop stars are leveraging cultural moments. For artists whose careers are built on emotional candor, these choices are shorthand for a public branding that mixes moral stance with visibility. It is a different kind of red-carpet calculus: absence, a targeted like, and an appearance elsewhere together become a statement.

Outside activism, the professional calendar keeps moving. Rodrigo is due to release a new album, You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love, via Geffen on June 12 — pre-order/pre-save here.