The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced Wednesday that, following protests, it will no longer accept gifts from Sackler family members behind Purdue Pharma. The company notoriously produces the drug OxyContin, a leading cause of the opioid epidemic. Members of the Sackler family have been accused of heavily promoting the drug, despite having knowledge of its fatal effects across the United States. “The museum takes a position of gratitude and respect to those who support us, but on occasion, we feel it’s necessary to step away from gifts that are not in the public interest, or in our institution’s interest,” said Daniel H. Weiss, president of the Met. “That is what we’re doing here.” The Tate Modern in London and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York have also distanced themselves from the family. The Sacklers have patronized The Met for decades, and are responsible for one of the museum’s biggest attractions, the Temple of Dendur, located in the glass-enclosed Sackler Wing. The museum says it has no plans to remove the family name from the wing.
