Brooklyn’s Debt Gala Blends Runway And Resistance

As millions of Americans lose health coverage this year, New Yorkers on Sunday gathered in Williamsburg for the Debt Gala, an evening that flips the exclusive Met Gala into a lifeline for those crushed by medical bills.

In its first three years, proceeds from the Debt Gala has helped eliminate more than $4 million in medical debt for families across the country.

“Every year, the Debt Gala creates community, raises money, uplifts designers, and turns the most incredible looks in New York City,” Debt Gala Co-Founder Molly Gaebe said in a statement. “This year’s theme ‘Body of Werrrk’ puts a spotlight on the literal bodies that America’s healthcare system leaves behind. This year, we’re celebrating bodies and the work they do while calling out the system that profits off their suffering.”

Proceeds from 2026 will be divided between Undue Medical Debt, a national nonprofit that buys and eliminates medical debt for those most financially and emotionally burdened, and Point of Pride, a trans-led organization providing life-saving gender-affirming healthcare support.

“As a freelancer, in the few years of the Debt Gala I have moved from health insurance through work to Medicaid to now paying on the exchange,” said Debt Gala Co-Founder and Executive Producer Tom Costello. “I am tired of seeing people in my life go through this same negotiation between affording the essentials of medical care and the basic needs of everyday life in New York City. It should not have to be this way–the wonders of medicine were not invented to be a comfort available only for the chosen few.”