The arrest of Amazon labor organizer Chris Smalls outside the 2026 Met Gala has added another layer of controversy to an event already under scrutiny for wealth, labor, and corporate power. Smalls, the co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union, was taken into custody on Monday, May 4, after police said he jumped over a barricade near the entrance to the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the annual fashion event.
The NYPD told WWD that Smalls was arrested around 8:15 p.m. and charged with resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, trespass, disorderly conduct, and failure to obey traffic devices. Police transported the 37-year-old labor activist to the Central Park precinct, where he awaited arraignment.
Video circulating online showed officers restraining Smalls in the street while celebrities continued to arrive on the nearby red carpet, including Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu.
The protest unfolded amid growing backlash over Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos serving as lead sponsors of this year’s Met Gala and the Costume Institute’s “Costume Art” exhibition. Activists in New York had already staged demonstrations criticizing billionaire influence, wealth inequality, and Amazon’s labor practices in the days leading up to the event.
Smalls’ longtime organizing partner, Derrick Palmer, later confirmed his identity. The Amazon Labor Union released a statement distancing the organization from the demonstration, saying Smalls’ actions “were not connected to ALU-IBT Local 1” and were not coordinated with union leadership or its broader organizing campaigns.
The statement also criticized what it described as “lone-wolf direct actions,” while simultaneously condemning what it called the NYPD’s “aggressive treatment of protesters” and calling for Smalls’ release.
Smalls became one of the most recognizable labor figures in America after organizing a 2020 walkout at Amazon’s JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was fired the same day after publicly criticizing the company’s safety protocols, a move that drew backlash from politicians, including Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
A leaked internal Amazon memo later described Smalls as “not smart or articulate,” comments widely condemned as racist and classist. Two years later, Smalls helped lead workers at JFK8 to form the first successful union at a U.S. Amazon warehouse.
Before becoming a labor activist, Smalls briefly pursued music and toured with Meek Mill, then shifted to warehouse work to support his family.
Smalls has also backed causes beyond Amazon, including the Fashion Workers Act and international activism related to Gaza. His first book, When the Revolution Comes, is scheduled for release in June.
