The night before the Met Gala, YOU take the red carpet.
May 4th, 2025 @ THE BELL HOUSE
Let Them Eat Cake: Ruined Riches
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THE 3rd ANNUAL DEBT GALA
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Let Them Eat Cake: Ruined Riches 🍰 THE 3rd ANNUAL DEBT GALA 🍰
Get ready to celebrate style that money can’t buy.
The Debt Gala is a red carpet event, variety show, and dance party raising money for economic justice.
Serve a look inspired by the theme "Let Them Eat Cake: Ruined Riches" and get professionally photographed. Enjoy top-tier comedy, drag, music, and more—closing the night with a dance party.
Proceeds support Undue Medical Debt, which erases medical debt, and For the Gworls Medical Fund, which helps Black trans people access healthcare.
Monday, May 5th, 2025 is the date of the 77th Met Gala.
Sunday, May 4th, 2025, is the date of the Third Annual Debt Gala
Rejoice. For your favorite budget-friendly, inclusive alternative to The Met Gala has returned to rage and raise for a good cause.
On May 4, 2025, grab your hottest torch and amass at the gates for Debt Gala 2025. Storm the red carpet in your best on-theme attire, cheer our third annual, nigh-legendary variety show, and debase yourself on the dance floor until we shut the place down.
It all goes down at The Bell House in Brooklyn.
4:30 pm VIP Red Carpet
5:00 pm Red Carpet
6:00 pm Performances
8:00 pm Dance Party
The Debt Gala raises money for organizations at the center of the fight for economic justice. In only two years, we’ve helped to eliminate over $2 million in medical debt for struggling families.
The Debt Gala was founded to fight for economic justice and stand up for those who can’t afford the rising costs of care. We are facing a growing healthcare crisis which includes an all-out assault on trans people’s existence. So this year, we’re proud to be raising money for organizations working to relieve medical debt and ensure access to life-saving, gender-affirming care for the Black transgender community:
Undue Medical Debt: Buys and eliminates medical debt—every $10 donated erases an average of $1,000, freeing families in need from financial devastation.
For The Gworls: Offers crucial financial aid for gender-affirming procedures, medication, and medical expenses for Black trans folks.
Your invitation awaits you here. See you on the barricades in Brooklyn!
The Debt Gala is fiscally sponsored by FJC, a 501(c)3 public charity. As such, all gifts made to FJC that are designated for The Debt Gala are fully deductible to the extent allowed by law.
What to expect…
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A benefit show open to everyone! Tickets start at $35 dollars.
The Debt Gala is a red carpet with incredible outfits designed to our one-of-a-kind theme, followed by a hilarious show featuring some of New York’s finest performers from the world of comedy, drag, and music. Stick around after the show for the Debt Ball, the dance party celebration! And do it all while raising money for an incredible cause.
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Lineup coming soon!
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Sunday May 4th, 2025
4:30 pm VIP Red Carpet
5:00 pm Red Carpet
6:00 pm Performances
8:00 pm Dance Party
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Well, of course! The theme is: Let Them Eat Cake: Ruined Riches
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The Bell House in Brooklyn, a gorgeous venue with a killer ballroom (and food and drink available for purchase!)
The Bell House
149 7th St, Brooklyn, NY 11215 -
Contact info - info@debtgala.com and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Linktree.
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We would love to chat! Email us at info@debtgala.com
Meet the Team
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Tom Costello
CO-FOUNDER
Tom is a director, writer and producer. Most recently, he was the Associate Director of the Broadway production of American Buffalo. He is directing two world premieres at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe with his company Brooklyn Bottling Company. He is a former Drama League Directing Fellow and is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre.
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Molly Gaebe
CO-FOUNDER
Molly is a comedian, writer, and co-founder of Rubbish Comedy, a comedy school and performance collective. She is a writer and performer at Abortion Access Front, a reproductive rights organization that uses comedy to expose anti-choice extremists. She performs regularly in Ten Bones Theater Company’s ‘Entirely From Memory’ improvised movie series.
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PJ Adzima
PRODUCER/HOST
PJ is an Actor and Nightlife Producer currently starring in The Book of Mormon on Broadway. He is the Founder and Host of Stage Time, the hit downtown variety show performing weekly at the historic Slipper Room on the Lower East Side. He is a Story Pirate, and a Co/Lab Supporting Artist.
Debt Gala Advisory Council
Dalí Adekunle | Amit Bagga | Becky Blatt | Kate Blumm |
Dalí Adekunle | Amit Bagga | Becky Blatt | Kate Blumm |
Rory Byrne | Mary Canter | Amanda Corday | Nicole Daniels |
Rory Byrne | Mary Canter | Amanda Corday | Nicole Daniels |
Ben Furnas | Allison Gould | Chrysalis Kendall |
Ben Furnas | Allison Gould | Chrysalis Kendall |
Stephane Magloire | Troy Oechsner | Dominus Sowell | Laura Zlatos |
Stephane Magloire | Troy Oechsner | Dominus Sowell | Laura Zlatos |
Can’t attend but want to support?
The Debt Gala is proud to support non-profits dedicated to economic justice through medical debt relief and advocacy. Even if you can’t be there, you can still support these causes.
