TikTok CEO Shou Chew has been named an honorary chair of the Met Gala, which will take place on Monday evening in New York City.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Benefit is one of the most exclusive and high-profile parties in the world.
In addition to Chew being honored, TikTok is also one of the sponsors of the event.
The other honorary co-chair is Jonathan Anderson, creative director of LOEWE. Celebrity co-chairs are Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Lopez, Anna Wintour and Zendaya Coleman.
The dress code for this year's Benefit will be “The Garden of Time,” in celebration of this year's theme, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.
The Met said in a press release, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion will reactivate the sensory capacities of masterworks in the Museum’s collection through first-hand research, conservation analysis, and diverse technologies—from cutting-edge tools, artificial intelligence, and computer-generated imagery to traditional formats of x-rays, video animation, light projection, and soundscapes. Approximately 250 objects spanning four centuries will be on view, visually united by iconography related to nature, which will serve as a metaphor for the fragility and ephemerality of fashion."
"The exhibition and benefit are made possible by TikTok," the press release added.
Earlier this month, Congress passed legislation to force TikTok to divest or be banned in the United States. The law was baked into a roughly $90 billion foreign aid package for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
Former President Donald Trump and X owner Elon Musk have both come out in opposition to the ban.
"Just so everyone knows, especially the young people, Crooked Joe Biden is responsible for banning TikTok," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The Republican nominee said that Biden is pushing for the ban to "help his friends over at Facebook become richer and more dominant."
"He is the one pushing it to close, and doing it to help his friends over at Facebook become richer and more dominant, and able to continue to fight, perhaps illegally, the Republican Party," Trump continued.
Trump also asserted that the TikTok ban is "ELECTION INTERFERENCE."
"It’s called ELECTION INTERFERENCE!" Trump exclaimed. "Young people, and lots of others, must remember this on November 5th, ELECTION DAY, when they vote! They also must remember, more importantly, that he is destroying our Country, and is A MAJOR THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!"
Musk called it "contrary to freedom of speech and expression." In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the 𝕏 platform.
Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 19, 2024
Musk wrote, "In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the 𝕏 platform. Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for."
TikTok has claimed it contributes $24 billion annually to the U.S. economy.
"It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually," a TikTok spokesperson told CBS News.
The push to ban or force divestment comes after pro-Palestinian content began going extremely viral on the platform.
Lawmakers claim that the bill is motivated by TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, having ties to the Chinese government.
