Jenifer Lewis is the latest celebrity to criticize Black celebrities for attending the 2026 Met Gala, following the Met Gala’s sponsor and co-chair, Jeff Bezos, who significantly impacted The Washington Post, resulting in thousands of job losses.
On Monday evening, the longtime actor took to Instagram to share a video, calling out those who attended the annual fashion event while others are reeling from job losses and the closure of children’s programs.
“Okay, so I hadn’t seen any of it, the singer and advocate, 67, began. “I had been running around all day, and my girlfriend called and said, ‘Jenifer, they showed up anyway.'”
Lewis then started to play the piano and said, “They cut nearly 30,000 jobs and gutted the Washington Post. They showed up anyway? Postering and posing, hoping to be the most. They cut $1 billion in funding for children’s nutrition. And there they all were, vying for the next position. We’re at war, and so many people are dying.”
She continued, “I said to my girlfriend, ‘Tell me you’re lying.’ How much fame do we need, ya’ll? How much more fame?”
Her followers in the comment section praised her for addressing these issues, with many also speaking on the massive job cuts from Amazon and over 300,000 Black women losing their jobs since early 2025.
“And she knows that the folks she’s talking about know THEY ARE THE FOLKS she’s TALKING about,” one commenter said with a teary-eyed emoji.
“300,000 Black women lost their jobs,” another wrote.
“And it’s a slap in the face knowing that the average citizen is in protest. So what does that state about their solidarity with average one,” a third user said.
“They showed up after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act,” another follower said.
Ahead of this year’s Met Gala, Taraji P. Henson also called out celebrities who were planning to attend. The situation began when influencer Meredith Lynch shared an Instagram video advising celebrities not to wear “ICE OUT” pins at the event and attributing part of the political issues to Bezos, according to theGrio.
Henson commented on her post, writing, “I am so confused by some ppl that are going. I am just like WTF ARE WE DOING!?!?!?!” with many followers also agreeing with her.
