Mayor Mamdani and wife Rama Duwaji formally skipped the 2026 Met Gala on Mon May 4 — the highest-profile mayoral snub in the event's 78-year history. The decision was driven by Vogue/Conde Nast accepting a ~$10M underwriting deal from Jeff Bezos for the gala, which sparked a citywide "Boycott the Bezos Met Gala" backlash including viral guerrilla projections on Bezos's Manhattan penthouse calling for a boycott (per Hyperallergic). Mamdani transition team has been openly critical of Amazon's reported cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on data-sharing requests — the explicit ICE link sharpens the controversy beyond a pure wealth-inequality frame. Several A-list celebrities reportedly skipped or downsized presence, including Bella Hadid (publicly supported boycott), Meryl Streep (did not attend), and others. Beyoncé returned to the gala after a decade. Duwaji posted a statement: "art and culture belong to everyone, not just those who can afford a $75,000 ticket." The Hill, Fast Company, AOL, USA Herald, CNN, Yahoo, Hyperallergic all covered. The skip caps the May Day → Five Boro Bike Tour → Met Gala-skip arc of physical embodiments of the economic-populist frame. Critics frame it as performative; supporters frame it as principled. Compounds the Citadel/Griffin and Wall-Street-rallying-around-Griffin pressure cycle, since Bezos sponsorship + Mamdani snub together signal a rupture between City Hall and ultra-wealthy donor class.