Sarah Paulson sparks debate over ruthless Met Gala outfit detail after people 'work out' meaning behind it
Sarah Paulson made a statement with more than just her couture dress at the Met Gala last night (May 4).
Celebrities from across the globe jetted to New York City for fashion's biggest night at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
14-year-old Blue Ivy raised eyebrows by attending the event, making her the youngest person in history to do so. Meanwhile, Bad Bunny looked almost unrecognizable as an older version of himself.
Then there was American Horror Story star Paulson's look. The 51-year-old, who has been dating Holland Taylor, 83, for a decade, wore a Matières Fécales Fall 2026 red-grey tulle ball gown paired with white gloves and a choker necklace.
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She also wore a blindfold in the shape of a one dollar bill, and it's this that people believe Paulson was trying to make a statement with.
There were tiny holes in the dollar note so that the actress could somewhat see where she was going.
One person suggested on Twitter: "The dollar bills are doing actual commentary, blindfolded by money, the gown is haute couture excess, and she’s standing on the Met carpet (literal cost-of-entry: $75K) staring back at us through cash.
"Whether it’s intentional satire or just an Avant-garde mood, it reads as the only fit on the carpet that’s actually saying something about the carpet."
Another person said: "Sarah Paulson wore a dollar bill over her eyes at the most expensive party on earth. That’s not fashion that’s a statement. She understood the assignment better than everyone in a 50k dress."
Some criticized her for her look, however. One person penned online: "Sarah Paulson’s dollar bill mask is some sort of protest against the 1% of which she is a part. If you want to protest the rich don’t go to an event that costs $100k per ticket. And give your $12m net worth away."
Elsewhere somebody branded her look and her attending the expensive event as being 'hypocrisy at its finest'.
All in all, it's thought that the statement was about people being blinded by money — a possible swipe at Jeff Bezos, who helped fund this year's Met.
When asked what her ensemble was called, Paulson said 'the one percent'. This is a term often used to describe the richest one percent of people in the world, one being Bezos.
Bezos ties to this year's event has sparked protests. Just hours before the star-studded event took place, a video was projected onto Bezos' New York penthouse depicting a disgruntled Amazon worker who was campaigning for more just treatment of employees at retailer.
How much does it cost to go to the Met Gala?
As you’d expect, a ticket to the most exclusive fashion event in the calendar doesn’t come cheap.
If you’re lucky enough to be approved for the guest list by former Vogue editor Anna Wintour, individual tickets are priced around $75,000 - up by 50 percent from 2023.
But the silver lining for A-listers is that the tens of thousands required to attend the high-profile shindig won’t be coming out of their own pockets.
Instead, fashion designers and brands will buy a table - which goes for $350,000 - and invite celebs to sit at it wearing their finest threads.
The Met Gala is actually a charity fundraiser for the Costume Institute at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, so the millions raised from ticket sales go towards the museum’s fashion department putting on exhibitions, making acquisitions, and its general running costs.
Topics: Met Gala, Sarah Paulson, Fashion, Celebrity, Money
Niamh Shackleton