Mostly known for its extravagant themes and dresses, the Met Gala brings together celebrities and social media stars across the globe once every year. However, on May 6th, this year’s Met Gala attracted the wrong kind of attention with its controversies.
Initially made to fundraise for the Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, the Gala welcomed the idea of celebrities fitting into this year’s theme: “the Garden of Time.” Consequently, the exact opposite occurred. Mass disappointment over celebrities’ disregard for the Met Gala’s theme shook the public.
“I was slightly disappointed with the Met Gala this year,” Ava Park (10), a social media user, said. “Like for Jennie, I hoped she would’ve matched the theme better. It wasn’t only her, but other celebrities too.”
Along with the discontent, posts related to the Met Gala invoked debate. Famous TikTok star and model, Haley Baylee, for example, enraged her audience over the use of the audio: “Then let them eat cake”. The audio was a reference to Antoinette, the queen of France who said, “Then let them eat cake” during the Revolution when her people were starving.
According to Forbes, TikTok watchers interpreted her video as ignorant during the time of the Israeli-Palestinian War.
“I think they’re really dismissive and tone-deaf,” Ashley Croft (10), a social media user, said. “Haley Baylee, for example, should’ve known what she was implying with her post. Especially because she has a mass following of 10 million.”
In addition to the controversy over the Met Gala, this year marked the first time K-pop idols were invited. The recently rising K-pop group, Stray Kids, came alongside Blackpink’s Jennie.
Being one of the few Korean invitees, it was expected that the idols would be treated respectfully. However, clips of anonymous photographers were seen taunting the group, sparking words about their “lack of emotion” and “robotic faces.”
“As a Korean, it’s very upsetting to see Korean K-pop idols being insulted in such white-majority events,” Ashley said. “They’re not mad because Stray Kids came, they’re mad because Asians came.”
The lack of respect and preparation only added more to the impression that this year’s Met Gala ended with greater controversy than ever before.
