Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez boasted that she boosted Google searches about 'our f****d up tax code' by attending the Met Gala, arguabl...
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez boasted that she boosted Google searches about 'our f****d up tax code' by attending the Met Gala, arguably the most elitist event in American celebrity culture, in a borrowed dress with the words 'tax the rich' on them.
The 31-year-old socialist firebrand attended the event with her boyfriend Riley Roberts after getting ready at The Carlyle Hotel on the Upper East Side.
She claims she went for free to the event, where tables can cost upwards of $200,000, and that it was her responsibility to do so as an elected official.
'The Met Gala is seen as elite and inaccessible...As a working class woman, [I] wanted to enjoy the event but also break the fourth wall and challenge the industry,' she proudly told Vogue at the event.
But she has been slammed for supporting the event by many who say she simply wanted to enjoy the limelight while trying to pass it off as a political protest in yet another example of her unedifying hypocrisy.
AOC - who previously posed on the cover of Vanity Fair and drives a $35,000 Tesla - wore a borrowed dress from Brooklyn designer Brother Vellies, a celebrity favorite run by Aurora James and had her make-up done beforehand by a Bobbi Brown artist. Her hair was styled by Vogue stylist Eric Williams and her shoes and bag were also from Brother Vellies.
She didn't wear a mask, like many of the other guests.
The event was for fully vaccinated guests only but the celebrities in attendance - who regularly preach online about COVID rules - ignored the guidance of the CDC and liberal states like California, where masks are recommended indoors regardless of vaccination status.
AOC poses in her 'Tax The Rich' dress while movie star Megan Fox waits behind her. AOC attended the event with designer Aurora James in what she claims was a political protest
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends the lavish Met gala wearing a 'TAX THE RICH' dress
Before the gala, AOC got ready at The Carlyle hotel on the Upper East Side, where rooms cost upwards of $1,000-a-night. She was escorted to a chauffer-driven car, with someone carrying the train of her dress, and she waved to screaming fans as she left the hotel
AOC with her boyfriend Riley Roberts (far right), her dress designer Aurora James and Benjamin Bronfman (far left)
It's unclear whether AOC's date, her boyfriend Riley Roberts, paid for his ticket, or if he was given it for free too
AOC posted this photo on Instagram last night along with a caption about her 'all BIPOC/women/LGBT+ team' of hair and make-up artists that included a Bobbi Brown make-up artist and Eric Williams, a hair stylist used for Vogue on cover shoots
In a proud Instagram post about the event and her choice of outfit, AOC said: 'The medium is the message. Proud to work with Aurora James as a sustainably focused, Black woman immigrant designer who went from starting her dream Brother Vellies at a flea market in Brooklyn to winning the CDFA against all odds - and then work together to kick open the doors at the Met. The time is now for childcare, healthcare, and climate action for all. Tax the Rich.
'And yes, BEFORE anybody starts wilding out - NYC elected officials are regularly invited to and attend the Met due to our responsibilities in overseeing our city’s cultural institutions that serve the public.
AOC said she was 'invited' to the event because she is a New York elected official and oversees 'the city's cultural institutions for the public'
'I was one of several in attendance. Dress is borrowed via Brother Vellies.'
Outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who previously said he'd never attend the event, also attended the event.
In a statement in a press release by Brother Vellies, AOC said: 'There’s no way I’d be doing this if it wasn’t with a woman of color and with the intent to grow the table and empower women that look like me.
'Despite being held in New York City, the culture of the Met Gala is everything but.
'NYC is often synonymous with inclusivity, inviting millions of people from different walks of life to call this city home.
'The Met Gala, on the other hand, is seen as elite and inaccessible. I’m attending today because I want to change just that and spotlight women of color who are often not included during events like these.'
Donald Trump Jr led the criticism, blasting AOC as a 'fraud' while pointing out that she was also not wearing a face mask 'after spending the last 18 months as one of the biggest mask Karens in the country'.
Andray Domise, a writer and partner in black news network Rezistans Nwa, also pointed out that the gala was taking place just yards from where the NYPD were arresting 'defund the police' protesters - a cause that AOC has previously supported.
'Police were creasing people's heads outside while you and your friends were nibbling watermelon tarts with smoked yuzu soy on panipuri crackers,' he said
Greg Price, a writer for the Daily Caller, added: 'AOC grew up in a wealthy suburb, went to one of the most expensive colleges in America, makes a six figure salary, drives a Tesla, lives above a whole foods, and is currently at an event that costs more to attend than America's average personal income.'
AOC was slammed for attending the event with her boyfriend and lapping up the limelight
Actor and comedian Michael Rappaport also weighed in. He shared a picture of AOC in a dress fitting session and captioned it: 'Custom TAX THE RICH dress while at the most elitist event in the world. Will soon be rich with a ginormous production deal from somewhere & done with Politics, guarantee it.
'Stop treating ANY of these people like celebrities they are public servants that work for US.'
As she made her Met Gala debut, AOC will have passed crowds of BLM protesters clashing with police outside the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Brothers Vellies, James' luxury brand, is often worn by celebrities such as Beyoncé, Meghan Markle, Zendaya, Rihanna and Lady Gaga, according to the brand's website.
It is AOC'S first time attending the gala, but her political message has already drawn controversy during this year's 'In America: A Lexicon of Fashion' exhibit. It was also James' gala dress debut.
AOC fawning over British actress Gemma Chan and designer Prabal Gurung at the Met Gala on Monday night in New York City
AOC is interviewed on the steps of the Met Gala while designer Aurora James waits by her side and celebrities walk the famed carpeted stairs
AOC yelling out on the steps of the Met Gala before going inside to mingle with the well-heeled, ultra wealthy guests
Outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who leaves office in November, also attended the event with his wife Chirlane McCray - who is also the Co-Chair of the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity - and son Dante
While AOC and Bill de Blasio mingled with celebrities inside the star-studded event, Defund the Police protesters were arrested outside. Both de Blasio and AOC championed the Defund the Police movement and led to the NYPD having $1billion of its budget cut
A woman gets arrested during a Defund the Police protest outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the MET Gala in New York on September 13, 2021 while Rep. AOC and Mayor Bill de Blasio were inside
James and Ocasio-Cortez said they were inspired by their experiences as working women of color to make the political statement at the Met gala.
James is the founder of the 15percent Pledge, a nonprofit that asks brands to 'pledge 15percent of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses.'
She designs mostly accessories and shoes listed on her brand's website retail around the $600 and $700 mark.
AOC has been very vocal in the past about her stance on taxing millionaires. In 2019 she advocated to raising taxes of to 70percent for the wealthy in order to fund measures against climate change.
'As a working class woman, [I] wanted to enjoy the event but also break the fourth wall and challenge the industry, Ocasio-Cortez told Vogue.
'When Aurora and I were first kind of partnered, we started having a conversation about what it means to be working class women of color at the Met,'
'And we said, you know, we can't just play along, but we need to break the fourth wall, and challenge some of the institutions. And while the Met is known for its spectacle, we should have a conversation about it,' she added.
In a 2019 Tweet, AOC wrote: When we say 'tax the rich,' we mean nesting-doll yacht rich. For-profit prison rich. Betsy DeVos, student-loan-shark rich.
'Trick-the-country-into-war rich. Subsidizing-workforce-w-food-stamps rich. Because THAT kind of rich is simply not good for society, & it's like 10 people.'
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