THE MET Gala is gearing up for its 2025 festival, and the buzz around this year’s guest list is already building.
Set to take place on the first Monday in May at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the event promises its usual blend of glamour and jaw-dropping looks.
This year’s theme, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, will spotlight the artistry, heritage, and cultural significance of Black tailoring throughout history.
While the full roster remains under wraps until closer to the date, early leaks and confirmations are stirring excitement – and some controversy.
Doechii's first walk up the steps
One of the biggest reveals so far is the inclusion of Grammy-winning Doechii making her Met Gala debut.
Not only will the musician be attending, she's a member of the Host Committee.
She's known for her bold fashion choices so her first turn on the Met’s iconic steps will certainly be one to watch.
Lili Reinhart’s fallout
Not everyone is celebrating an invite, however.
Riverdale star Lili Reinhart has hinted she won’t be returning to the Gala anytime soon – and she’s convinced she’s effectively “banned”;.
Lili last attended in 2022, when she made waves by publicly slamming Kim Kardashian’s extreme weight loss to fit into ’s iconic dress.
Days after the event, she took to Instagram Stories, writing, “To walk on a red carpet and do an interview where you say how starving you are … because you haven’t eaten carbs in the last month … all to fit in a f**king dress? So wrong. So f****d on 100s of levels.”;
She didn’t stop there, adding, “To openly admit to starving yourself for the sake of the Met Gala. When you know very well that millions of young men and women are looking up to you and listening to your every word. The ignorance is other-worldly disgusting.”;
In an October 2022 interview with W Magazine, Lili reflected on the aftermath, saying “It was fun, but after going again this year, I don’t think I’ll be invited back … I said a certain something about a certain person in a certain dress.”;
While hasn’t publicly confirmed her exclusion, or Kim's attendance this year, the actress seems certain her outspoken criticism has left her off the guest list.
More Stars Who’ve Turned Away
Lili isn’t the only celebrity to sour on the Met Gala.
Vogue supremo Anna has only publicly banned one person – Donald Trump, as she revealed on a 2017 episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden.
But others have either been rumored to be persona non grata or have vowed never to return.
Zayn Malik, who attended in 2016, told GQ in 2018, “I’d rather be sitting at my house, doing something productive, than dressing up in really expensive clothes and being photographed on a red carpet … It’s not me.”;
Tina Fey called it a “jerk parade”; in a 2010 chat with David Letterman, dragging her husband along only to swear off the event forever.
Amy Schumer echoed the sentiment in 2016, telling it felt like “punishment”; and a “farce”; she had “no interest”; in.
Demi Lovato also had a rough go in 2016, telling Billboard in 2018 that the Gala was “terrible”; and “cliquey,”; leaving her so uncomfortable she nearly turned to alcohol.
However, she later returned to the event in 2024.
And Tim Gunn claims he’s been banned since recounting a story to E! in 2016 about seeing Anna carried down stairs by bodyguards.
Gisele Bündchen skips the red carpet
Meanwhile, supermodel and her partner Joaquim Valente won’t be making their red carpet debut as a couple at the Met Gala this year – because they’re skipping the event entirely.
Sources told TMZ that Gisele “is not going to one of the biggest nights in fashion this year, and she never planned to go either”;.
The Brazilian icon hasn’t attended since 2023, and this time, she’s opting to stay home in Miami with Valente and their newborn child, born earlier this year.
“Instead of posing on the steps of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, Gisele and Joaquim will be spending quality time with their newborn,”; the outlet reported.
A star-studded team
This year’s Gala is shaping up to be a powerhouse event, not just for its attendees but for its organizers.
The 2025 co-chairs – Colman Domingo, , A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Anna herself – will be joined by honorary chair LeBron James.
The Met is also reviving its longstanding tradition of a Host Committee, a diverse group of actors, artists, athletes, designers, filmmakers, musicians and writers supporting the evening’s festivities.
The lineup includes André 3000, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Jonathan Owens, Grace Wales Bonner, Jordan Casteel, Dapper Dan, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri, Edward Enninful, Jeremy O. Harris, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Rashid Johnson, Regina King, Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, Audra McDonald, Janelle Monáe, Jeremy Pope, Angel Reese, Sha’Carri Richardson, Olivier Rousteing, Tyla, Usher and Kara Walker.
