No, AOC didn’t pay for her Met Gala ticket or dress

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez drew both praise and heat for wearing a dress that said "Tax the Rich" to the Met Gala, an event that can cost $35,000 to attend. But some of the criticism aimed at the congresswoman is inaccurate. 

"AOC paid $30,000 to go to an event filled with the world’s richest celebrities just to wear a dress that says "Tax the Rich," one Facebook post said. "YOU THE RICH." 

"A little further back she was complaining about not affording NYC rent," another post said. "But she can drop $30,000 on a #MetGala and God knows how much on that dress." 

These posts were flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

According to the New York Times, designers and corporate sponsors generally pay Met Gala admission — $35,000 a ticket or $200,000 to $300,000 a table — for the gala’s guests. 

"Many New York City elected officials are invited as well, as ‘guests of the museum’ who do not pay," the Times said. 

In a Sept. 13 Instagram post showing her posing in her dress, Ocasio-Cortez, said in part: "BEFORE anybody starts wilding out — NYC elected officials are regularly invited to and attend the Met due to our responsibilities in overseeing our city’s cultural institutions that serve the public. I was one of several in attendance. Dress is borrowed via @brothervellies." 

The Met Gala benefits the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Featured Fact-check

Threads posts

stated on November 24, 2024 in a Threads post

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said “if every member of Congress had to resign for doing what Matt Gaetz has been accused of, Democrats would have a supermajority.’"

Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez, told PolitiFact that the congresswoman didn’t buy her ticket to the gala. 

"She was invited as a guest of the Met," Hitt said. "She also did not get to keep the dress."

A spokesperson for the Met confirmed that Ocasio-Cortez was a guest of the museum.  

We rate claims that she paid for her ticket and dress False.