Socialite Julie Macklowe – seen here at 2019’s “Camo” theme event – has called the annual Met Gala a ‘shit show.’Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
New York City socialite Julie Macklowe is breaking the number one rule of the Met Gala: you don’t diss Anna Wintour’s grand event.
Page Six has learned that during an upcoming episode of Joe Pardavila’s “Good Listen” podcast, former hedge fund manager Macklowe will slam the annual event, known as the “Oscars of Fashion,” saying it’s “generally a giant s**t show” that’s short on star power.
“I’d say 10 years ago, it used to be more socialites, more business people,” she explains. “More like real, A-list celebrities. Now it has become much more influencers. Half the people who go there, I don’t even know who they are. And it feels like everyone’s just trying to dress naked at this point.”
The annual event is hosted by Anna Wintour and known at the “Oscars of Fashion.”WireImage
Macklowe at 2017’s “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between” Met Gala.WireImage
(Not quite incidentally, Macklowe appeared naked in Vogue in May 2014 in an ad for her skin care line, vbeauté.)
The gala has seen almost every celeb pass through its doors, drawing in A-listers like Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Blake Lively, Sarah Jessica Parker, the Kardashian/Jenner family, Anne Hathaway, Timothee Chalamet and Beyonce and Jay Z. It is also attended by socialites like Elyse Newhouse and Gillian and Sylvester Miniter.
Influencers like Addison Rae, Dixie D’Amelio, Emma Chamberlain and Madison Beer have also attended.
Macklowe is married to wealthy developer Billy Macklowe whose parents are billionaire real estate legend Harry Macklowe and his ex wife, art collector, Linda Macklowe.
Macklowe is married to wealthy developer Billy Macklowe whose father is billionaire investor Harry Macklowe and ex wife, art collector, Linda Macklowe.Steve Eichner/Shutterstock for The Macklowe and Hutong
Macklowe went with a red number for 2008’s “Superheroes,” themed event chaired by Giorgio Armani.Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
She hasn’t gone to the event since 2019, but the socialite says she had a boozy billionaire run-in at that year’s “Camp” themed bash.
“I was standing in line and Jeff Bezos was literally right next to me. He’s like, ‘What is in that flask? And can I have a sip?’ I’m like, ‘I have whiskey in my flask.’ So, he had a sip from my flask.”
Macklowe owns an eponymous single-malt whiskey brand.
Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner have attended the event for several years.Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Jared Leto once dressed as Karl Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette to honor the late designer.Getty Images
The socialite knows that there are consequences for speaking badly of Wintour’s baby.
“Obviously, I don’t care if I don’t get invited back,” she said.
Others have braved the ire of Vogue’s icy editrix.
Comic Amy Schumer told Howard Stern in 2016: “It’s people doing an impression of having a conversation. I don’t like the farce… We’re dressed up like a bunch of fucking assholes.”
Sarah Jessica Parker, seen here with Andy Cohen, is a regular at the event, which Tina Fey has called “a jerk parade.”Getty Images
Wintour has full approval over the guest list.Getty Images
Singer Demi Lovato complained about mean girls, saying, “This one celebrity was a complete b*tch and was miserable to be around. It was very cliquey.” And she said attendees were “fake and sucking the fashion industry’s d**k.”
Tia Fey famously dubbed it a “jerk parade.”
“Every jerk from every walk of life is there wearing some stupid thing,” she said.
Macklowe in a metallic look at 2016’s event, themed, “Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology.”Getty Images
Gigi Hadid and Lizzo have partied together at the A-list bash.Getty Images
Still, many would die for a chance to go the event, which not only requires the $30,000 to $50,000 to buy a single ticket (tables can range between $275,000 to $500,000, according to sources) to benefit the Met’s Costume Institute, but requires an invite and approval from Wintour herself.
A source told Page Six in 2020 that designers who buy a table “can invite who they want, but they run their guests past Anna. . . If Anna has had a bad experience with you, or doesn’t feel like you should be in, you’re not invited.”
Macklowe at 2015’s “China: Through The Looking Glass.”Getty Images
Macklowe went off on an upcoming episode of Joe Pardavila’s “Good Listen,” podcast.Getty Images
