Trigger warning: war, genocide, islamophobia

The greater collective online has declared that we are officially living The Hunger Games. Sparking outrage for its immense display of wealth, the 2024 Met Gala drew comparisons to Suzanne Collins’ dystopian novels. In response to perceived insensitivity from celebrities, a social media movement gained traction, advocating for the blocking of famous figures who remain silent on the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

Last week (May 6), millions of people worldwide tuned in to see models, actors, and other influential figures in show-biz climbing up the famous stairs of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in Manhattan, USA.

But with the current geopolitical situation, the world’s most prestigious and glamorous fashion event has been slammed by a growing number of people on social media, pointing to parallels with The Hunger Games.

The 2024 Met Gala drew comparisons to The Hunger Games amid outrage over its tone-deaf opulence

Image credits: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

The popular trilogy and the movies, notably featuring Jennifer Lawrence as heroine Katniss Everdeen, depict Panem, a North American country consisting of the wealthy Capitol and 13 districts in varying states of poverty. 

Every year, children from the first 12 districts are selected via lottery to participate in a compulsory televised battle royale death match called The Hunger Games.

Much like the fictive Capitol’s ostentatious displays of wealth and luxury contrasted sharply with the impoverished districts, people have highlighted the real Met Gala‘s immense display of opulence amid broader societal inequalities. 

Image credits: Vogue

In addition to celebrities exhibiting their lavish and incredibly expensive outfits, social media users have also criticized the cost of partaking in the event.

An individual ticket for the Met Gala costs around $75,000, while a 10-seat table starts at $350,000, the BBC reported.

“This is genuinely so dystopian,” a man who runs the Climate Revolution TikTok page said in a video. “These people are living in a different plane of reality than the rest of us.”

The backlash spurred a social media movement urging celebrities to speak out on the ongoing Palestine crisis

Image credits: Rotten Tomatoes Trailers

He continued: “They aren’t even affected by the same political and economic issues that matter to us because rich people will always have the means to circumvent them.

“War, abortion access, rent prices, sea level rise, extreme heat, food scarcity, these things don’t concern them.”

Pointing to famous people’s silence on the ongoing genocide in Palestine, the content creator went on to ask: “What do they actually have to lose by speaking out about what is going on in Rafah? Nothing.”

Image credits: Rotten Tomatoes Trailers

On the same day the Met Gala took place, the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of 100,000 Palestinians from Rafah to make way for what it called a “limited” military operation in a city where 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering, Al Jazeera reported.

As battles raged across Gaza, Palestine, where the health ministry said on Sunday (May 12) that the death toll since October 7 had topped 35,000, there was widespread panic in the enclave’s southernmost city of Rafah as tens of thousands of people upped sticks and left, fearing an imminent Israeli invasion, as per NBC News.

“That’s more than the average American makes in a year,” TikToker Life Of Marie said as she pointed to the Met Gala’s ticket price. “And they spend it in one night for a few hours of fun. Eat the rich.”

@fiorellaxcb to all the innocent lives lost – may you rest in paradise angels. 🍉✊🏼 • • • • #metgala #metgala2024 #metgalabestoutfits #metgalatheme ♬ origineel geluid – nina.editss

Content creator Zaya Perysian posted a video on TikToker where she exclaimed: “Everybody that was at the Met Gala, those b*****s live at the capitol.

“The rest of us? We’re in the sorry-*”s districts, girl.”

She went on to juxtapose the luxurious social gathering with the “thousands of people protesting outside.”

@zayaperysian Dystopia IRL 😭 #metgala #metgala2024 #keeptiktok #fyp ♬ original sound – Zaya

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters were blocked by the police on Monday evening from getting close to the Met Gala, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday (May 7).

According to the news outlet, groups including students from Columbia University, Baruch College, and New York University converged at Hunter College, after which about 800 demonstrators marched toward the event.

The Met Gala protests unfolded against the backdrop of the series of occupation protests by pro-Palestinian students, which started at Columbia University in April 2024.

People criticized the cost of attending the Met Gala alongside celebrities flaunting lavish attire, labeling the event as dystopian

The Met Gala is feeling extra Hunger Games this year

— Melissa Stewart (@LissaJoStewart) May 7, 2024

The movement has since spread globally, with universities worldwide demanding that their schools sever any direct or indirect financial and academic links with Israel, including by divesting from companies with ties to Israel, as per Al Jazeera.

The protests are currently held in multiple universities across the USA, including Yale University, the University of Texas, and the University of Southern California.

Other universities participating in other countries include the University of Geneva in Switzerland, the University of Valencia in Spain, and the University of Tokyo in Japan.

Seeing Met Gala coverage felt like when the tributes showed up at the capital in Hunger Games all glitzy and everyone in the capital cheered and the rest of the districts are starving and dying and living in a totalitarian state.

— Christian Navarro (@navarroc0821) May 7, 2024

“Once again, just like at the Oscars and the Super Bowl, when millions of people in America and in the West were tuned in to yet another pop culture event, the IDF launched another attack against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” TikToker Zaya said.

The IDF stands for the Israel Defense Forces, which is the national military of the State of Israel. 

Zaya went on to cite influencers staying silent on the issue out of fear of losing sponsorships before admitting: “My humanity is worth more than any brand deal I could ever get.”

The detachment of the wealthy from pressing political and economic issues was often cited

Image credits: ohamandajane

Caden McDonald posted a video on TikTok with The Hunger Games’ soundtrack sung by Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss, The Hanging Tree.

“A ticket to the met gala was $75,000, the average income needed to buy a house is $110,000,” Caden wrote, adding: “We don’t want to watch your hunger games… we just want a future.”

The song, which is meant to reflect the oppression of the Capitol, has become popular on social media in recent weeks and is often used by content creators to reflect on real-life geopolitical issues.

@ohamandajane #stitch with @Live for fashion Thoughts on the met gala dress code #metgala #gardenoftime #currentevents #jgballard #hungergames ♬ original sound – Ohamandajane

A TikToker who goes by Oh Cal declared in a video that “celebrity worship is over.”

“Celebrities pay $75,000 to sit around in this echo chamber of their own f*****g narcissism while they congregate in their little District 1-inspired outfits while they’re serviced by District 12,” the TikTok user said

She added: “And then they’ll have the nerve to try and relate to us on some personal level like they know the average American.”

Amid the Met Gala, the ongoing crisis in Gaza was juxtaposed with the gala’s extravagant spending

Image credits: oh.cal

@oh.cal *edited to later include because of repeating comments: – this post is about dystopian level wealth / class disparity. I feel like a broken record at this point saying that. I know this is for charity. ive been made aware most celebrities have tables paid for by designers, though some pay for individual tickets. I am also aware of the importance of the preservation of art and history. I love art. Film. Fashion. But it doesnt make it any less dystopian, and outright uncomfortable when most of us dont even make 75,000 a year. If you cannot see the disparity, the juxtaposition and the contrast here. Idk what to say. 75 grand for a MetGala ticket. #areyoucomingtothetree #fyp ♬ original sound – 🤍

The subsequent #blockout social media campaign has since gained momentum, and users have been urged to boycott celebrities who have remained silent on the humanitarian crisis in Palestine.

Madeline Lillian declared on TikTok that she had decided to block “everyone in the Kardashian family.”

Lady From The Outside launched the campaign last week in a viral TikTok video where she announced: “It’s time for the people to conduct what I want to call a ‘digital guillotine’, a ‘digitine,’ if you will.” 

The subsequent #blockout social media campaign has since gained momentum, and users have been urged to boycott celebrities

Image credits: cadenmcdonald54

@cadenmcdonald54And that wont even get you a nice house♬ Champions league used my sound – SlowedSongs

She continued: “It’s time to block all the celebrities, influencers, and wealthy socialites who are not using their resources to help those in dire need. 

“We gave them their platforms. It’s time to take it back, take our views away, our likes, our comments, our money.”

According to the recently established Blockout.org website dedicated to the campaign, celebrities subjected to the digital guillotine include Beyoncé and Selena Gomez.

“It’s time to block all the celebrities, influencers, and wealthy socialites who are not using their resources to help those in dire need.”

Image credits: life.of.marie_

@life.of.marie_ The Met Gala reminds me of the capital in “The Hunger Games” #met #metgala #metgala2024 #hungergames #capital #rich #money #fyp #foryoupage #fypage ♬ original sound – Marie

Ironically, Jennifer Lawrence has also come under fire for defending Amy Schumer. In a cover story for Variety, The Hunger Games star said: “Amy’s choice to use her voice to speak for justice puts her under immense fire.

“I wouldn’t say she navigates it so much as she throws her middle fingers up and walks away from negative comments like a gas station fire in a Michael Bay movie.”

“How you gonna star in Hunger Games and take away absolutely nothing from the role??” someone wrote in a Reddit post in response to the 33-year-old actress’ statement.

The TikToker who launched the campaign said: “It’s time for the people to conduct what I want to call a ‘digital guillotine.'”

Image credits: climate.revolution

@climate.revolution we’re living in the hunger games y’all #metgala #consumerism #celebrity #influencer #fypage #foryoupage #foryou #hungergames #blockout2024 ♬ original sound – Climate Revolution

Another person penned on X (formerly known as Twitter): “Is this the same Jennifer Lawrence who played Katniss Everdeen in FOUR Hunger Games films? LMAO what a joke Ms. Lawrence.”

Amy has been an active advocate in support of Israel’s invasion of Palestine, often coming under scrutiny for making Islamophobic statements and inciting hate against Arabs.

In November 2023, the 42-year-old comedian posted a cartoon to her Instagram feed depicting people protesting in a crowd holding signs that suggested all people from Gaza were rapists, murderers, and antisemites.

An individual ticket for the Met Gala costs around $75,000, while a 10-seat table starts at $350,000

Image credits: aniston

@aniston Block celebrities. We make them famous. #metgala#metgala2024#hungergames#district12 ♬ WHAT. – ⭐️

According to the American Jewish advocacy organization Jewish Voice for Peace, antisemitism is discrimination, targeting, violence, and dehumanizing stereotypes directed at Jews because they are Jewish.

Meanwhile, being an anti-Zionist means opposing the political ideology of Zionism, which resulted in the expulsion of 750,000 Indigenous Palestinians from their land and homes.

“I swear we all live in District 12,” a person commented

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