Jeff Bezos reportedly froze out actor over billionaire-inspired role in ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jeff Bezos reportedly used his money to ban an actor from the Met Gala 2026. The Amazon founder is said to have taken the step because he was frustrated with the A-list star’s role in ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ that apparently resembled him a lot.
As per reports, Bezos spent $10million to get him and his wife Lauren Sánchez, co-chair titles at fashion's biggest night.
Jeff Bezos reportedly frustrated with Justin Theroux
He then used his position to exclude Justin Theroux from the May 4 gala after his character in ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’, billionaire Benji Barnes, was widely believed to be based on Bezos.
A source told Hollywood insider Rob Shuter, as per RadarOnline, that “Justin’s character is Jeff, plain and simple. And Jeff has zero sense of humor when the joke is about him – or Lauren. He can laugh at almost anything else. But mock him, mock her, and you're done.”
Bezos got 'offended' by Theroux's character which he did not find 'funny'
Theroux’s character as Barnes in the movie goes from being a divorced billionaire tycoon to becoming a far more polished, stylish power player after shedding weight. In the movie, he also fell in love with Emily Blunt's glamorous fashionista, Emily Charlton.
Bezos also transformed himself from a skinny, socially awkward tech mogul to a muscular, alpha male after he fell for curvaceous vixen Sánchez in 2019. He also gave divorce to his first wife Mackenzie Scott in 2019.
There is another similarity between Theroux’s character and the 62-year-old businessman’s life.
Some previous reports have claimed that Bezos was planning to buy Vogue's parent company, Condé Nast, as a wedding present to Sánchez, so that she can run it. In the new movie, Benji tries to buy a fictional Runway magazine so Emily can operate it.
A second source has claimed that Bezos did not find the similarities between him and Theroux’s Barnes “funny”.
“Not the parody, not the performance, not the Lauren angle – none of it. And once Jeff was offended, Justin was never getting through that door,” they added.
Justin Theroux called his 'The Devil Wears Prada 2’ character 'an idiot'
Meanwhile, Theroux had earlier claimed that he enjoyed playing Benji. During the movie’s promotion, he said, “The most fun thing about playing him was how silly he was. He’s such an idiot.”
“To be able to be ridiculous, wear ridiculous clothes – I have a really ridiculous hair thing going on, I’m bald, but then it’s like my hair’s falling out – that was the most fun,” the 54-year-old actor stated.
