Don’t let anyone tell you that the Met Gala was boring. Every year, critics say that the bedazzled celebrities didn’t do enough, or that they failed to fit the theme (“Fashion Is Art” in 2026), or that the whole spectacle is irrelevant and out of touch with the times. People always do this on fashion’s biggest night because judging is our sovereign duty as citizens of the internet.
I’m here to tell you, as a longtime entertainment reporter, that this Met was actually particularly bizarre. Bad Bunny was in oldface, Beyoncé dressed like a skeleton and Madonna wore a boat on her head. The biggest fashion accessory seemed to be ornamental human hands. Anna Wintour, patron saint of fashion herself, repeated an outfit. Halloween came early for Heidi Klum.
I’m not sure what’s going on with the stars, astrologically or culturally, at this point in time, but aren’t you grateful that celebrities really showed up to entertain us on this sacred first Monday of May? Let’s talk about some of the most viral moments that we’ll surely remember for hours, if not days, to come.
A robot turned up at the Mark Hotel
As celebrities were leaving the star-studded nearby hotel, so did a robot. We never found out what that was all about because it never appeared at the Met Gala. Was it a statement on the intersection of technology and art? Someone’s friend who escaped the room? An unruly companion uninvited by Anna herself? We may never know, but a lot of people did not like it.
Moms broke the rules to bring their daughters
You’re not supposed to bring anyone under 18 to the Met Gala, but what’s the museum supposed to do, say no to Nicole Kidman or Beyoncé? I don’t think so! Both 17-year-old Sunday Rose Kidman-Urban and 14-year-old Blue Ivy Carter showed up dressed to the nines with their moms on a school night.
Blake Lively was VERY unexpectedly present
Just hours after settling her more than yearlong legal battle with It Ends with Us costar and director Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively rolled up to the Met Gala in a gorgeous pastel dream of a Versace dress, complete with a 13-foot train. That’s a power move if I’ve ever seen it. Her custom Judith Leiber bag meanwhile incorporated colorful artworks made by her four children.
The couples (and missing partners) gave us something to talk about
The Met Gala is historically a great place to get photos with your romantic partner, just ask Elon Musk and Grimes (RIP), Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson (RIP) or Selena Gomez and The Weeknd (RIP). Just kidding — so many couples have broken up after the doomed Met date, that some people joke that it’s cursed.
We’re sending our best to the couples who rolled the dice and made their gala debut together tonight regardless! Rebecca Hall was there with Morgan Spector, Dwayne Johnson showed up with Lauren Hashian, Hugh Jackman went with Sutton Foster and Marcello Hernández stepped out with Ana Amelia Batlle Cabral.
Still, it felt like the absences were more interesting than the attendees. Gracie Abrams was there without Paul Mescal, Zoe Kravitz was there without Harry Styles (and her rumored engagement ring), Hailey Bieber was there without Justin, and so on. Timothée Chalamet went to the New York Knicks game instead of attending the Met with Kylie Jenner, but that seems to be tradition at this point.
The ‘Heated Rivalry’ boys haven’t flamed out
One of the biggest pop culture questions I have for 2026 is whether we’ll get tired of seeing Heated Rivalry breakout stars Hudson Williams and Conner Storrie everywhere. The answer, after a menagerie of fashion events and special TV appearances followed by the Met Gala, is no.
Storrie went viral for striking a whimsical pose in response to fan cheers while leaving his hotel, and Williams got people buzzing by leaving the same hotel in a robe with his hair and makeup done as if Wolverine appeared in Black Swan.
A whole lot of fakery
I couldn’t help but notice that a significant number of Met-related posts I saw over the course of the night were fake. It became a trend for fans to imagine their favorite celebrities who weren’t present, like Meghan Trainor, Demi Lovato and Lady Gaga, in art-inspired outfits. They even did it with stars who did show up, like Tate McRae. It’s a bit of a bummer to see on a night celebrating the triumphs of human art. Here’s a (real) photo of Rihanna to raise your spirits.
Did I mention how weird this Met Gala was?
Doja Cat showed up looking like she was wrapped in a Ritz cracker sleeve (h/t my colleague Nicole Darah who made this excellent joke on Slack). Troye Sivan had jeans on. Hamish Bowles, who works for Vogue, was dressed so strangely that his name started trending as much as A-listers.
Don’t get me started on all the creative props people brought — Sarah Paulson wore a money blindfold, Katy Perry more a mirrored mask and six-fingered gloves, fashion icon Jordan Roth had a faceless mannequin protruding from his back and Olympian Eileen Gu’s bubble dress also had real-life bubbles floating out of it. Doechii meanwhile decided to forego footwear altogether and walk the red carpet barefoot.
Lauren Sánchez Bezos didn’t look strange at all, which was what was so baffling — she’s rich! She should be having fun! She should have taken notes from Heidi Klum, who usually looks normal at these fashion events and over-the-top at her annual Halloween party, but perhaps she was confused by the beautiful weather.
In all my days, I will never forget seeing Bad Bunny dressed, inexplicably, like an old person. I didn’t even have time to process that before Madonna arrived with a ship on her head.
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