Billionaires, Bubble Tea, and Fried Chicken: Inside the Mark Hotel on Met Gala Monday

All photos by J Lee.

MONDAY, 10:34PM, MAY 4, 2026, THE MARK HOTEL

It’s 9pm on the first Monday in May. Met Gala Monday. I’m standing in the lobby of The Mark Hotel. Ground zero for Met Gala related dressing and undressing. To be honest, I don’t quite know what I’m doing here. I am a food writer. I write about salads and burgers for a living. But for whatever reason, I’ve been given credentials to stand in this lobby and watch celebrities walk to the elevator that will take them to their fabulous rooms after their fabulous evening taking photos with fabulous people.

Without credentials you can’t even get on the block. Security here is incredibly high. There are some very important people staying in this hotel. Billionaires, K-Pop Demon Hunters, worldshapers, Cardi B, at least one Kushner, and also Maude Apatow. I’m here to listen and observe, to bask in their presence, take a few photos, and maybe if I’m very lucky I might even get to see them eat a chicken tender. You see, The Mark’s famous hot dog cart has been taken over by KFC tonight, and they’ll be handing out boxes of chicken tenders and potato wedges to returning guests. Celebrities, they’re just like us. But they’re also on GLP-1/3s. Bone apple tea.

The night started slowly. We all sat and watched the door, waiting for someone to arrive, for a black van to pull up, and for a beautiful person to get out of it. Around 10, the first celeb to arrive, or return, was Paul Kelly, the guy who played JFK Jr. on Love Story. Wow, what a handsome man! It’s honestly not fair. Sometimes god will really spend some time sculpting a beautiful face, but for the rest of us he’ll just mush up some clay and throw it in the kiln. If I looked like him, I would be the worst person in the world. He’s having a moment right now and he seems to be really enjoying it, but he did not eat a chicken tender. His loss. Someone who I can guarantee was eating after the gala, or at least drinking, was Blackpink member Lisa. I spotted her team bringing at least 10 bubble teas from Hey Tea up to her room. I love a bubble tea drinking queen.

As the night wore on, more and more celebs started to appear and I was having a great time. Being a paparazzi is fun, lowkey. Everyone looked amazing. Celebrities aren’t just like us. You can’t help but come to terms with that truth when you see Tyla. Seeing Cardi in her Marc Jacobs dress was amazing, I love everything about her. I was maybe the most starstruck by Alyssa Liu, fresh off her big Olympics win. Kloss and Kushner are very tall. Joe Burrow is also very tall. I saw the head of Instagram, the founder of Google, and the youngest self-made female billionaire. Odessa A’zion and Chase Infiniti were a fun and sparkly duo; they really have so much hair! Sombr wants it bad, you can tell, and I think he might just have it—he got the crowd all riled up. Paloma said the best part of the night was seeing Stevie Nicks, and then her and Alexa Consani led the crowd in a singalong of “Edge of Seventeen.” Shoutout to all the people helping to carry those long trains. Of course, the night was not without drama; what would a night be without drama. It got a little heated. So many people wanted to be in that room, I felt very lucky to have my badge.

The star of the evening, to my surprise, was Hudson Williams from Heated Rivalry. I’m straight, so unfortunately that show’s not for me, but it seems that every woman in the entire world is completely obsessed. He seemed to be the guy everyone was waiting for. He walked in with Daisy Edgar-Jones, and they beelined to the elevator. A manager of a prominent artist stepped away just for a second and, in that time, she missed Hudson. She was devastated. To help ease the pain I sent her some photos that I’d taken. She waited late into the night hoping he’d come down that elevator and show his face one more time. I hope her wish came true.

But the real MVP of the evening was Harry. Harry’s been working the hot dog cart at The Mark since it opened seven years ago, and tonight he worked his ass off slinging chicken tenders. You can tell that it brings him joy to get those boxes into the hands of as many guests as possible. They’re not eating them in the lobby, but they’re bringing them to their rooms for a cheeky little late night tender. His smile brightens the room. He’s having the best time, more fun than anyone. Tonight is his night. It’s his Super Bowl, it’s his Met Gala, and he’s winning. Around midnight, Tessa Thompson’s team took the last box of chicken up to her room and Harry got to go home. He’s gotta be back tomorrow morning. Sleep well, my king, and see you next year.