Who are the guests and who are the absentees of the Met Gala 2024

We're almost there. The Met Gala is about to return. On May 6 the Upper East Side will be overrun by a parade of celebrities, Hollywood darlings, music idols, and designers, ready to climb the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art wearing the most beautiful and dramatic outfits. As we get closer to the event, we learn more details about this edition, starting with the inauguration of the new exhibition Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, where 250 of the most delicate creations preserved in the museum's archives will be displayed. We know that Loewe's creative director, Jonathan Anderson, and TikTok's CEO, Shou Zi Chew, will serve as honorary co-chairs, while the livestream will be hosted by actress Gwendoline Christie, producer and actress La La Anthony, and model Ashley Graham, assisted by Emma Chamberlain who will interview the stars on the red carpet as Vogue's special correspondent. Who knows what marvelous looks The Garden of Time will inspire, a dress code referencing a short story by J.G. Ballard and intended to suggest an exploration of the relationship between fashion and nature, with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Hemsworth (for the Thor actor, it will be his debut at the event) and Bad Bunny joining Anna Wintour as co-chairs. Apart from the mystery surrounding the chosen outfits, the other big question remaining is: who will be the guests of the Met Gala 2024?

Which Celebrities Are Banned from the Met Gala

In 2017, during The Late Late Show, Anna Wintour revealed to James Corden that she would no longer want Donald and Melania Trump at the charitable event, but the former President of the United States is not the only prominent name officially banned from the Costume Institute Gala. The list of "personae non gratae" to Vogue America's editor-in-chief, who will never be allowed to tread that red carpet, is quite long, starting with Kanye West, ousted from the fashion world after his racist and anti-Semitic rants and excommunicated by Vogue with a press release stating, "Neither Vogue nor its editor-in-chief Anna Wintour intend to work with West again following his anti-Semitic tirades and support of the White Lives Matter cause." Others denied an invitation due to their outspokenness include Rachel Zoe, who in 2007 claimed to be more influential than Mrs. Wintour, and Tim Gunn, who in 2016 explained that he earned a ban from the Met Gala after saying the most absurd thing he'd seen in fashion was Anna Wintour being carried up five flights of stairs by two bodyguards, two enormous men, during a runway show. Since then, to use the words of the former Project Runway judge, "all hell broke loose. It was crazy. There has been open warfare since then." Perhaps it won't be war, but there is certainly a chilly atmosphere between the Gala and Lili Reinhart. The Riverdale star, known for fighting against toxic Hollywood stereotypes and "stupid and dangerous celebrities whose central image revolves around their bodies," had harshly criticized the dangerous diet followed by Kim Kardashian to fit into Marilyn Monroe's dress at the 2022 edition.

The Disappointed Guests We (Maybe) Won't See at the Met Gala Anymore

We can easily assume that Sean "Diddy" Combs, due to recent sexual trafficking accusations, won't grace the Met steps, and for other reasons we won't see Jameela Jamil, Lena Dunham, Zayn Malik, all rumored to have been banned after publicly criticizing their experiences at the event. A fate shared by Gwyneth Paltrow, who in 2013 bluntly stated that the Met Gala "sucked" and that "you get roasted and you’re smushed in there." Even more direct were Amy Schumer and Tina Fey. The former commented during an interview with Howard Stern, "I don't like the farce. We're a bunch of dressed-up f***ing a**holes. I don't like it. I don't care about fashion." While Fey told David Letterman, "I went once and it was really just a parade of jerks. Clearly, I will never go again." The harshest criticism of the Met Gala, however, came from Demi Lovato, who described her 2016 attendance as "a terrible experience," adding, "I remember being so uncomfortable that I wanted to drink. I changed my clothes, but still had my jewelry on when I went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. And I related more to the homeless people in that meeting who talked about their addictions than the people at the Met Gala who were drunk and pretending to be enjoying themselves and licking the industry’s a**."

The Guests of the Met Gala 2024

Barring last-minute surprises, we know who won't be at the Met Gala 2024, but who already has the invitation in hand? Considering the co-chairs, each of whom can bring a plus one, we can expect to see Tom Holland alongside Zendaya and, if he hasn't gotten bored last year, Ben Affleck with JLo. It is said that Barry Keoghan and Gisele Bündchen have already received invitations and may take advantage of the opportunity to make their new romances with Sabrina Carpenter and jiu-jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente official. The list of lucky attendees should also include Uma Thurman, Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevingne, Sarah Paulson, and Olivia Rodrigo. If Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are already planning their looks and aiming to be crowned the coolest couple, there is much curiosity about the celebrities who will debut, like Lily Gladstone, The Bear star Ayo Edebiri, and Chris Hemsworth, who will climb the Met steps for the first time on May 6. Who knows what they will wear.