'Why don't you pay your workers a living wage instead of throwing them a concert?': Jeff Bezos is slammed after posing with Katy Perry and Lil Nas at gig in Seattle for select Amazon workers
Jeff Bezos has been slammed on social media for throwing a multi-million dollar concert for certain employees not long after some workers went on strike over pay and conditions.
The billionaire Amazon founder was spotted partying with Katy Perry and Lil Nas X backstage at Amazon's Post-Prime Day concert for employees in Seattle last night.
In one photo that surfaced on social media, the trio were pictured standing alongside each other smiling while Lil Nas clutched a dog.
Another photo showed them walking down a corridor with Bezos donning Lil Nas' black, graffiti-covered jacket.
But Bezos, who was named the richest person in the world earlier this year, has been criticized for splashing out on the show when some Amazon employees do not receive healthcare or a living wage.
Jeff Bezos has been spotted posing for photos with Katy Perry and Lil Nas X backstage at Amazon's Post-Prime Day concert for employees in Seattle on Tuesday
Social media users asked whether the celebrities who partied with Jeff Bezos would raise the issue of Amazon staff not getting healthcare with the company's founder
Others suggested Amazon staff would rather be paid a living wage rather then given concerts
When it was mentioned that the Post-Prime Day concert was for software engineers, one Twitter user suggested the money for the gig should be used to pay warehouse staff
Last month Amazon employees staged walk outs to protest poor working conditions, inadequate pay and the company's links to ICE.
Workers at a warehouse in Shakopee, Minnesota, came up with the plan to use Prime Day to raise awareness for workers' conditions, and the strike quickly gained traction at other locations across the world.
After details of the Post-Prime Day concert, which was said to only be for certain employees, critics took to social media to call on Bezos to pay his staff a living wage instead of putting on star-studded gigs.
One Twitter user wrote not long after the show: 'Oh my god, that’s gross. I mean... yay for the employees, I guess? But maybe just give them a living wage and healthcare and let them see their own concerts?
'That money could have been spent better elsewhere. Like giving warehouse workers healthcare. And even if the artists performed for free, shows cost tens of thousands in union workers’ salaries to put on, plus insurance.'
Another added: 'Why don’t you pay your workers a living wage first instead of throwing this multi-million-dollar concert #amazon.'
The billionaire Amazon founder posed for photos with Perry and Lil Nas at the Seattle event on Tuesday night
One Amazon employee said although she doesn't get benefits from her employer she was happy to go to the free gig
One woman asked if the celebrities partying with the Amazon founder would raise the issue of workers' conditions backstage: 'Are they gonna ask Jeff why his employees don't have healthcare, forced to clock out before overtime, and why he doesn't pay taxes?!!'
There were also calls on social media for a blanket boycott of Prime Day on July 15.
Massachusetts Sen Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders, both 2020 presidential hopefuls, voiced their support for workers on Twitter.
In the pictures Bezos posed for last night, Perry could be seen peering over the shoulders of the Amazon CEO and Lil Nas.
Bezos had earlier taken to the stage during the event to thank his Amazon employees.
'I just want to say thank you. We had another great Prime Day,' he told the crowd.
'I remember just a little over 20 years ago I was driving all the packages to the post office myself. That wasn't that long ago.
'When I look out at this crowd I am in awe of what you guys do. Not just on Prime Day but every day.
Bezos gave thumbs up to the crowd as his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez watched on
'The curiosity, the passion, the hard work... everything that I get to see when I get to work with you guys is just amazing.'
Amazon hosts a concert for its 45,000 Seattle-based employees after the retail giant's Prime Day annual online shopping sale.
It comes after the company held an Amazon Prime Day concert in New York last month that was headlined by Taylor Swift.
Bezos, who is worth an estimated $111 billion, is only just back home from a lavish European getaway with his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez.
The couple were spotted in Spain and France on fellow billionaire David Geffen's $200 million yacht.
Bezos had earlier taken took to the stage during the event to thank his Amazon employees. He is pictured above on the big screen
