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Ocasio-Cortez Stirs Controversy with ‘Tax the Rich’ Dress at NYC Gala

Ocasio-Cortez tax the rich
Ocasio-Cortez sparked a social media storm with her dress at a NYC gala on Monday. Video screenshot/YouTube

Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — or AOC, as she is popularly known — stirred controversy at a New York gala on Monday wearing a white gown with the message “Tax the Rich” splashed across the back in red.

The Democratic congresswoman from New York attended The Met Gala, held in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, which made a return after its cancellation in 2020 due to the pandemic.

AOC raised eyebrows with her couture gown by Brother Vellies in an event attended by some of Hollywood’s wealthiest stars. Tickets for the event cost $35,000 apiece and tables were up to $300,000, reports AFP.

Ocasio-Cortez explains Tax the Rich dress at the gala

Later she offered an explanation for doing so. “When we talk about supporting working families and when we talk about having a fair tax code, oftentimes this conversation is happening among working and middle class people (on) the senate floor,” she told reporters at the event, according to CNN. “I think it’s time we bring all classes into the conversation,” she said.

“The medium is the message,” she wrote on Twitter.

Ocasio-Cortez added: “Before haters get wild flying off the handle, New York elected officials are routinely invited to and attend the Met due to our responsibilities in overseeing and supporting the city’s cultural institutions for the public. I was one of several in attendance in this evening.”

Ocasio-Cortez calls for billionaires to pay higher taxes

The congresswoman has repeatedly called for billionaires to pay higher taxes and previously courted controversy by selling sweatshirts with “Tax the Rich” emblazoned on them.

She drew national recognition when she won the Democratic Party’s primary election for New York’s 14th congressional district on June 26, 2018. She defeated Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley, a 10-term incumbent, in what was widely seen as the biggest upset victory in the 2018 midterm election primaries.

Taking office at age 29, Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress. She advocates a progressive platform that includes support for workplace democracy, Medicare for All, tuition-free public college, a federal jobs guarantee, a Green New Deal, and abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Storm at social media

Her appearance at the Met Gala caused a storm on social media. Many applauded her courage, other said it was hypocritical.

“Pardon me, isn’t the phrase “tax the rich” completely useless as a form of protest unless you take it directly TO the rich people you’re talking about? People think she shouldn’t have worn this to the gala? Where should she have worn it? At a Chili’s?” a Twitter user commented.

Donald Trump Jr, said Ocasio-Cortez is a fraud. “The “tax the rich” dress while she’s hanging out with a bunch of wealthy leftwing elites or the lack of masks after spending the past 18 months as one of the biggest authoritarian mask Karens in the country?”, he claimed.

Related: Is Malliotakis the Anti-AOC Republicans Needed in New York?

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