Megan Hutchinson
Staff Reporter
On September 13, this year's 2021 Met Gala took place at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met Gala is a large fundraising event for The Met, the largest art museum in the U.S. and is home to over 2 million pieces of artwork. The Met Gala welcomes stars, young creatives, politicians, celebrities, and industry paragons. It is also commonly referred to as, “fashion’s biggest night out.”
At this year’s Met Gala many famous musicians, celebrities, models, and industry icons attended. The outfits that these icons wear are given to them by large fashion industry companies in order to gain exposure and show what is in store for that company for the upcoming year. Large brands buy what is known as a ‘table,’ costing around $275,000. At this table, brands invite celebrities of their choice in order to represent their brand. However, if you are a celebrity and wish to attend the event but were not invited the ticket to attend is near $30,000. Many of the outfits worn are extravagant, over-the-top, show-stopping outfits, or are what some believed to be. This year’s outfit theme was, “American Independence.”
One woman that is catching plenty of publicity and news coverage for her outfit is Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC. She attended the event in what appeared to be a bridal gown with a shapely white satin sheath with a mermaid flounce with, “Tax the Rich,” written across the back in bold red letters. According to The New Yorker, Aurora James, the gown’s designer, “launched the 15 Percent Pledge, a nonprofit initiative that encourages retailers to reserve fifteen percent of their shelf space for the products of Black-owned businesses.”
Currently, AOC is receiving backlash from the left and right sides. Both political parties are expressing how they do not support the ‘hypocrisy’ for appearing at an ultra-exclusive celebrity event to support an elite cultural institution.
Ocasio-Cortez's main plan that is widely known is her, “Tax the Rich,” campaign when she was elected into office in 2018. According to CNN, “The House legislation calls for reversing a key plank of the Republicans' 2017 tax cuts by returning the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6%, up from 37%. That new top rate would apply to single filers with taxable income greater than $400,000 a year and married couples filing jointly earning more than $450,000 annually.” The plan is to not charge those making less than $400,000 which is more than 90% of taxpayers.
AOC is also receiving backlash because she is a ‘well politician,’ and to reiterate, attended an extremely expensive, glamorous event. However, congresswoman AOC is currently sitting comfortably at around $174,000 annually. Furthermore, AOC is not anywhere near included in the top 1% included in the tax campaign. She also grew up in a hard-working class family. However, this topic has many sides, debating whether or not AOC should be able to speak on this topic.
Image Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
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