AOC suggested she'd been invited by The Met Gala or Conde Nast but DailyMail.com can reveal Conde Nast did not comp her ticket, nor did it comp Mayor Bill de Blasio's
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was not given a free ticket to attend this year's Met Gala by Conde Nast and neither was Mayor Bill de Blasio, despite the former's claim that she was 'invited as an elected official' to the ultra-elitist, $35,000-a-head event.
AOC tried to justify the hypocrisy of her attendance by suggesting she'd been invited to attend for free as someone who 'oversees' New York City's 'cultural institutions'.
But DailyMail.com can reveal she was not given a free ticket, as she suggested.
Sources who helped organize the event confirmed on Tuesday that neither she nor Mayor Bill de Blasio - who attended the event with his wife and son - were gifted tickets by Conde Nast, which means someone paid for pair - but it's unclear who.
Neither de Blasio nor AOC would reveal who footed the bill on Tuesday.
De Blasio's rep told Politico that he made the decision to attend the event, somewhat ironically, in an economic meeting 'months ago'.
'The mayor made the decision to attend months ago in one of his hours long economic recovery war room meetings led by Lorraine Grillo. He wanted to highlight a local designer who had been able to make it through the pandemic.
'It’s a notable way to grab people’s attention and highlight the return of the city’s fashion industry jobs.'
AOC was spotted leaving with Aurora James, the designer behind her 'tax the rich dress' and her boyfriend, Benjamin Bronfman - the heir to the Seagram's fortune.
He is also the nephew of Clare Bronfman, who was accused of funding NXIVM sex cult with donations to Keith Raniere.
AOC also left the party with her boyfriend, Riley Roberts, and James.
AOC with her boyfriend Riley Roberts (far right), her dress designer Aurora James and Benjamin Bronfman (far left), James' partner who is the heir to Seagrams Company Ltd. The group was pictured leaving at midnight. AOC claimed she'd been 'invited' as an elected official. DailyMail.com understands that Conde Nast did not comp them
AOC poses in her 'Tax The Rich' dress while movie star Megan Fox waits behind her. AOC attended the event with designer Aurora James in what she claims was a political protest
She boasted to the magazine: 'The Met Gala is seen as elite and inaccessible...As a working class woman, [I] wanted to enjoy the event but also break the fourth wall and challenge the industry,' she proudly told Vogue at the event.
On Tuesday morning, AOC boasted about the surge in Google searches for the words 'tax the rich'.
She wrote on Instagram: 'Surge in people looking up and discussing our f****d up tax code is and how we fix it so we can fund childcare, healthcare, climate action and student loan forgiveness for all? Aurora James understood the assignment.'
But she has been slammed for supporting the event by many who say she simply wanted to enjoy the limelight while trying to pass it off as a political protest in yet another example of her tone-deaf hypocrisy.
AOC - who previously posed on the cover of Vanity Fair, drives a $35,000 Tesla and claims to be '100% grass roots from the Bronx' despite growing up in a wealthy NYC suburb.
She wore a borrowed dress from Brother Vellies, James' celebrity-adored NYC label.
Before the gala, AOC got ready at The Carlyle hotel on the Upper East Side, where rooms cost upwards of $1,000-a-night. She was escorted to a chauffer-driven car, with someone carrying the train of her dress, and she waved to screaming fans as she left the hotel
The only jewelry she wore was a pair of $450 gold hoops from Mejuri and a $65 ring from the same brand.
She didn't wear a mask, like many of the other guests.
The event was for fully vaccinated guests only but the celebrities in attendance - who regularly preach online about COVID rules - ignored the guidance of the CDC and liberal states like California, where masks are recommended indoors regardless of vaccination status.
In a proud Instagram post about the event and her choice of outfit, AOC said: 'The medium is the message. Proud to work with Aurora James as a sustainably focused, Black woman immigrant designer who went from starting her dream Brother Vellies at a flea market in Brooklyn to winning the CDFA against all odds - and then work together to kick open the doors at the Met. The time is now for childcare, healthcare, and climate action for all. Tax the Rich.
'And yes, 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 Brother Vellies.'
Outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who previously said he'd never attend the event, also attended the event.
In a statement in a press release by Brother Vellies, AOC said: 'There’s no way I’d be doing this if it wasn’t with a woman of color and with the intent to grow the table and empower women that look like me.
'Despite being held in New York City, the culture of the Met Gala is everything but.
'NYC is often synonymous with inclusivity, inviting
