Amazon union founder Chris Smalls reportedly arrested outside Jeff Bezos-sponsored Met Gala

The Met Gala arrest came as activists organized a broader demonstration outside the star-studded event over Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez’s sponsorship.

Amazon Labor Union founder Chris Smalls was reportedly arrested outside the 2026 Met Gala on Monday night after allegedly jumping a barricade during a protest targeting the event’s sponsorship by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

As theGrio previously reported, Smalls was detained and beaten by Israeli forces last July while on a humanitarian aid mission to Gaza, and he vowed at the time to continue his activism. The Independent reported that the NYPD confirmed a 37-year-old male was taken into custody with charges pending but would not confirm the individual’s identity as Smalls.

Video footage showed police wrestling a man to the ground outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a Reuters photographer captured a man resembling Smalls holding a protest sign similar to one he had posted on his own social media ahead of the event.

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The Met Gala arrest came as activists organized a broader demonstration outside the star-studded event over Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez’s sponsorship. Protesters cited concerns over Amazon’s labor practices, worker exploitation, tax avoidance, and alleged complicity in Israeli military actions in Gaza. In the days leading up to the gala, activists also projected messages onto New York City buildings, left bottles of urine inside the Met, and displayed signs targeting billionaires and Amazon’s business practices. Taraji P. Henson even questioned why people would attend ahead of the event.

Smalls rose to national prominence in 2022 after successfully leading the first union election at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York. He has since become one of the most recognizable labor organizers in the country, expanding his activism well beyond Amazon’s warehouse floors. Monday’s reported Chris Smalls Met Gala incident marks the latest chapter in his years-long push to hold powerful corporate interests publicly accountable.

No formal charges had been publicly confirmed as of the time of this report.