Zohran Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji are turning down the Met Gala

On May 1st, celebrities, influencers, models, athletes, CEO billionaires, and more will gather at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to walk the famous steps and enjoy the Met Gala. While we will have to wait and see who got the exclusive invitation, there is one political couple that will reportedly not be in attendance. 

According to Page Six, by tradition, New York’s mayor Zohran Mamdani and first lady Rama Duwaji were invited, but will be missing it. The couple found love after matching on Hinge in 2021, and said “I do” in early 2025. 

© Pool

 The likely deliberate decision lines up perfectly with who he’s shown himself to be politically.

The event, helmed by Anna Wintour and backed this year by billionaire sponsor Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez, represents the exact concentration of wealth and influence Mamdani has spent his career criticizing. “He’s not coming… it goes against everything he believes in,” a source told Page Six. 

© Michael M. Santiago

While skipping the gala means missing a tradition that past mayors like Eric Adams, Bill de Blasio, and Michael Bloomberg have all embraced, the Met Gala, for all its artistry, is still a $30K-per-seat room filled with CEOs, celebrities, and donors funding a cultural institution that isn’t exactly an everyday resource for the average New Yorker.

Mamdani has built his name on pushing for higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy, stronger tenant protections, public investment in housing, and a broader critique of systems that prioritize billionaires over working-class New Yorkers. 

© Getty Images for The Met Museum/

With one of the world’s richest men helping fund the night, showing up could easily be framed as rubbing shoulders with the very class Mamdani has positioned himself against. 

Mamdani is walking a thin line when it comes to the public’s criticism, and his politics rely heavily on consistency and trust. There would be backlash from both sides – his supporters for the hypocrisy, and his haters for rubbing shoulders with the very class Mamdani has positioned himself against. 

Even if he were to show up with a political statement, there would be negative reactions. When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stepped onto those same Met steps in 2021, wearing her now-infamous “Tax the Rich” dress, it backfired. People took to social media to drag her for attending an elite event while denouncing wealth inequality. 

© Jamie McCarthy/MG21