The fashion world has been left raising their eyebrows after The Devil Wears Prada 2 seemingly mocked billionaire pair Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez after they funded the Met Gala.
The power couple are the financial sponsors for this year’s event and serve as co-chairs alongside Anna Wintour, Beyoncé and Nicole Kidman.
However, Bezos and Sanchez could be in for an awkward evening when the biggest night in fashion returns on May 4, as the gala is said to have a big tie-in with The Devil Wears Prada 2 – which many fans are claiming parody the pair.
While reviews for the sequel are still under embargo, those who have been to early screenings are said to have clocked a similarity between Sanchez and Emily Blunt’s character Emily, the social-climbing assistant to Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly.
In the sequel, Emily has left Runway magazine and is working for Christian Dior but is desperate to increase her status, dating a pompous billionaire tech mogul played by Justin Theroux.
Theroux’s character Benji is said to be based on a mashup of Bezos and Elon Musk, as per Variety, who is seen in flashbacks wearing layers of ‘fat’ prosthetics before coming into extreme wealth, losing weight and lavishly spending on his partner.
The fashion world has been left raising their eyebrows after The Devil Wears Prada 2 seemingly mocked billionaire pair Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez after they funded the Met Gala (pictured at the 2024 event)
Fans are said to have clocked a similarity between Sanchez and Emily Blunt’s character Emily, the social-climbing assistant to Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly
In the film, Emily is dating a pompous billionaire tech mogul called Benji played by Justin Theroux. Benji is said to be based on a mashup of Bezos and Elon Musk
Benji’s first wife is billed as a philanthropist who uses her divorce payout to help others – in an apparent nod to Bezos’ ex MacKenzie Scott.
A subplot in Prada 2 sees Emily and Benji look into purchasing Runway, which could be a nod to the rumour that the Bezos and Sanchez have been trying to purchase Vogue’s publisher Condé Nast.
Sanchez previously claimed she ‘wished’ she had a stake in Conde Nast, while eyebrows were raised by Anna Wintour’s decision to put Sanchez on the digital cover last year in her wedding gown.
It’s also been reported that Prada 2’s screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna prepared the script by interviewing former and current Condé Nast employees.
A spokesperson for Blunt told Variety it was ‘absolutely not true’ that her character was based on Sánchez Bezos, while Disney had no comment on the matter.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Blunt, Disney, Sánchez, Bezos and Theroux for comment.
Now Sanchez and Bezos could face an awkward night at the Met Gala next month, given the Prada 2 cast are expected to attend.
There has already been backlash to the billionaire’s involvement in the gala, which raises funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
Just steps away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 81st Street and Third Avenue on the Upper East Side, protest posters have been pasted on the boarded-up entrance of the now-closed Daona Deli.
The giant posters bear two very bold messages. The first showed what appeared to be a plastic water bottle filled with urine on a red carpet in front of flashing camera lights.
‘The Bezos Met Gala,’ the sign read. ‘Brought to you by worker exploitation.’
A large, bright red poster next to it displayed an even more scathing message in bold white letters, reading, ‘Boycott the Bezos Met Gala.’
Underneath, in smaller font, the poster shared a message that said: ‘There’s no dressing it up. Met Gala chair Jeff Bezos avoids tax, enables ICE, and backs Trump. Don’t let him get away with it.’
It is not immediately clear who put the posters up.
The posters seem to be in reference to previous allegations against Bezos’ company.
In 2023, three Amazon delivery drivers, including an Iraq War veteran, claimed in a lawsuit they were forced to urinate in bottles and defecate in dog waste bags to keep up with the company’s demands.
The lawsuit accused Amazon of subjecting employees to ‘inhumane’ working conditions that saw them go to the bathroom inside delivery vans.
In response, Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson told The Denver Post: ‘We want to make it clear that we encourage our Delivery Service Partners to support their drivers.
‘That includes giving drivers the time they need for breaks in between stops, providing a list within the Amazon Delivery app of nearby restroom facilities and gas stations, and building in time on routes to use the restroom or take longer breaks.’
The case has been stayed.
There has already been backlash to the billionaire’s involvement in the gala, which raises funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute
In November, Wintour responded to criticism surrounding the couple’s role as Met Gala sponsors in an interview with CNN, telling the outlet that Sanchez is a ‘great lover of costume and obviously of fashion.’
She said that she believes that Sanchez would be a ‘wonderful asset to the museum and the event.’
‘We’re very grateful for her incredible generosity,’ Wintour continued. ‘So we’re thrilled she’s part of the night.’
This year’s dress code is ‘fashion is art,’ which will serve as a more specific baseline for guests against the gala’s overall theme of ‘costume art.’
The star-studded guest list includes members of the host committee, such as Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Misty Copeland, Lena Dunham, Angela Bassett, Sam Smith and Chase Sui Wonders.
The New York City museum will pair historical and contemporary garments from the Costume Institute for the exhibition, which will be loosely divided into three categories: the classical body and the nude body, aging bodies and pregnant bodies, and the anatomical body.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is released in cinemas on May 1
