Given the amount of A-listers packed into one venue, it's no surprise the amount of drama that goes down at the annual star-studded Met Gala.
Given the amount of A-listers packed into one venue, it's no surprise the amount of drama that goes down at the annual star-studded Met Gala. But aside from the unforgettable fashion, the Met Gala has also been the scene of some of the biggest headline-making moments in pop culture. From Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston's dance-off that marked the start of their whirlwind romance, to Solange and JAY-Z's elevator fight caught on tape, let's take a look back at the 14 most jaw-dropping moments.
Alex Rodriguez claims Kylie Jenner talked about how rich she is:
Rodriguez talked about his experience alongside then-fiancée Jennifer Lopez at the 2019 Met Gala in an interview with Sports Illustrated, and made a shocking comment about Jenner.
"We had a great table," he said. "The Black guy from The Wire -- Idris Elba, yeah, and his new wife. Some famous singer next to me, I don't know what her name is. Versace -- Donatella. We had Kylie and Kendall [Jenner]. And we had an Asian gentleman from Rich Asians, the lead."
"Kylie was talking about Instagram and her lipstick, and how rich she is," he added.
Jenner later refuted his comments, tweeting, "Umm, no i didn't. We only spoke about Game of Thrones ??♀️??♀️"
Rodriguez then agreed, tweeting, "OMG that's right @KylieJenner!! It was me talking about you and your makeup line and how much my girls love you. #GOT #respect #alllove," he wrote.
Jared Leto poses with a replica of his own head:
Leto definitely pushed the envelope when he carried a replica of his own head at the 2019 Met Gala.
The outfit was reminiscent of Gucci’s Fall/Winter 2018 line, which featured models walking the runway with decapitated heads resembling themselves.
Mindy Kaling recently recreated Leto's unforgettable look as part of the #MetGalaChallenge and the results were spectacular.
Kim Kardashian's infamous pregnant 2013 Met Gala debut:
Kardashian definitely made a statement at her first-ever Met Gala in 2013, with an unforgettable skintight floral dress designed by Riccardo Tisci. The reality star was pregnant with daughter North at the time, and made sure her baby bump was on full display.
The dress sparked plenty of memes, a few comparing Kardashian's bold look to a couch.
In 2015, she poked fun at the gown, dressing up as herself for Halloween, this time pregnant with her son, Saint.
"Still fits," she cracked.
Kardashian's Met Gala debut also sparked some controversy when Vogue did not include her in a photo gallery of the best-dressed stars from the event. Her husband at the time, Kanye West, made the cut, but she was Photoshopped out of the original photo.
Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston have a flirty dance-off:
In hindsight, Swift and Hiddleston's chemistry was pretty obvious.
Prior to the two's whirlwind romance in 2016, Valentino brand ambassador Carlos Souza shared video of Swift and Hiddleston dancing at the Met Gala to rapper T.I.'s 2004 hit, "Bring Em Out."
The duo also showed off their moves to Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love," with Hiddleston eagerly twirling Swift around.
Hiddleston later talked to the Press Association about the viral moment.
"I love dancing, who doesn't?" he said. "It's a weird one. I haven't actually danced for a long time, but I happened to be dancing at the Met Gala, because it was a party."
"I was on a table with Taylor Swift and The Weeknd was playing and she said, 'The thing about these parties is nobody gets up to dance,'" he continued. "She, as a musician, was like, 'We've got to dance for The Weeknd!' so we got up and danced."
Swift and Hiddleston ended up dating for three months before splitting in September 2016.
Selena Gomez and The Weeknd make their debut as a couple ... with his ex, Bella Hadid, also there:
Gomez and The Weeknd made their romance red carpet official at the 2017 Met Gala, showing plenty of PDA for the cameras.
Check out the two absolutely glowing:
But the moment was definitely a bit awkward, given that The Weeknd's ex-girlfriend, Hadid, was also in attendance, wearing a super sexy sheer Alexander Wang catsuit.
Just one year prior, The Weeknd was Hadid's date to the Met Gala.
Of course, Gomez and The Weeknd's relationship didn't last through the year. The two split after 10 months of dating.
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez make their red carpet debut ... and Rodriguez shows he's not a dancer:
Now-exes Lopez and Rodriguez also made their splashy red carpet debut at the 2017 Met Gala, looking stunning as a power couple.
Video of the pair at the Met Gala later went viral, when Italian businessman and Valentino pal Giancarlo Giammetti captured Lopez busting a move when Migos performed their hit, "Bad and Boujee," as Rodriguez stayed seated, awkwardly watching Lopez.
... We don't blame you A-Rod!
One year later, Rodriguez actually Instagrammed Lopez dancing at the Met Gala, this time to Rihanna's "B**ch Better Have My Money."
Nicki Minaj shades Demi Lovato ... and Lovato responds:
What's the Met Gala without a little shade? At the 2016 soiree, Lovato awkwardly posed for pictures with Moschino designer Jeremy Scott alongside Minaj. Minaj was seen giving Lovato some major side-eye, and to add insult to injury, the rapper shared the photo on Instagram, but didn't tag Lovato, though did make sure to tag Scott.
... Ouch.
Lovato seemingly responded on Snapchat, writing, "When you aren't mentioned in a post but didn't do sh** to the person ..."
The "Cool for the Summer" singer later addressed the shade in her own Instagram post of the same hilarious photo.
"This picture pretty much summed up my first and probably last met???," she wrote of the now-infamous photo. "#cool #sof**kingawkward #notforme #sweatpants #forensicfiles #whatsgood."
"P.s. some of y'all need to learn how to take a joke," she added. "I'm obviously laughing at the fact that 1. I look incredibly awkward and 2. That the shade being thrown in this picture actually gives me life???."
Lovato later spoke about the Met Gala, and said that her "terrible experience" drove her to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
"This one celebrity was a complete b***h and was miserable to be around," Lovato told Billboard. "It was very cliquey. I remember being so uncomfortable that I wanted to drink."
Lovato said she texted her manager from the event and went straight to a 10 p.m. AA meeting.
"I changed my clothes, but I still had my diamonds on -- millions of dollars of diamonds on in an AA meeting," she recalled. "And I related more to the homeless people in that meeting who struggled with the same struggles that I deal with than the people at the Met Gala -- fake and sucking the fashion industry's d**k."
Kylie Jenner is unimpressed with Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively:
Though Sasha Obama appeared starstruck when she met Reynolds at the White House in 2016, the same definitely can't be said for Jenner. In exclusive pics obtained by ET of the 2017 Met Gala, Jenner is seated by Reynolds at the table, but is hilariously on her phone as Reynolds and Lively engage in conversation with Chrissy Teigen and John Legend. In another pic, Jenner's head is completely turned away as Reynolds and Lively share a laugh.
... Hey, not everybody has to hit it off.
Solange attacks JAY-Z in an elevator, as Beyonce calmly looks on:
Solange's infamous fight with JAY-Z in an elevator is the Met Gala moment that tops them all. In 2014, surveillance footage from a Standard Hotel elevator was leaked just moments after they attended the Met Gala, which showed Solange yelling at, kicking and hitting JAY-Z while a security guard restrains her. JAY-Z didn't fight back, and Beyonce, who was also in the elevator, remained stoic during the intense argument.
The family put out a statement after the incident, which read, "As a result of the public release of the elevator security footage from Monday, May 5th, there has been a great deal of speculation about what triggered the unfortunate incident. But the most important thing is that our family has worked through it. Jay and Solange each assume their share of responsibility for what has occurred. They both acknowledge their role in this private matter that has played out in the public. They both have apologized to each other and we have moved forward as a united family."
Interestingly enough, in 2016, Beyonce attended the Met Gala solo -- and without her wedding ring -- after rumors of JAY-Z's infidelity swirled following the release of her critically acclaimed album, Lemonade.
Aside from posing with Solange and her pals, Nicki Minaj and La La Anthony, Queen Bey also posed with Rita Ora, seemingly putting to rest the rumors that Ora was Beyonce's "Becky with the good hair."
The incident once again made headlines when JAY-Z later released his song, "Kill JAY-Z," which makes a not-so-subtle reference to the Met Gala drama.
"You egged Solange on," Jay rhymes, "knowing all along all you had to say you was wrong."
But it's the next line that fans think is even more telling.
"You almost went Eric Benét, let the baddest girl in the world get away," he raps, referencing the actor and musician who split from Halle Berry in 2003 amid rumors of infidelity. Later, he warns again, "Never go Eric Benét."
JAY-Z eventually broke his silence on the infamous fight.
"We had one disagreement ever -- before and after we've been cool," he told Rap Radar hosts Elliott Wilson and Brian "B.Dot" Miller of the footage. "She's like my sister. I will protect her. That's my sister, not my sister-in-law. My sister. Period."
Jaden Smith brings his old hair as his date:
Smith caused a stir in 2017 when he brought his own chopped-off dreadlocks and posed with them on the red carpet.
Smith explained the bold move in an interview with the late Andre Leon Talley.
"And since I couldn't bring my sister as a date, I brought my old hair," he said, referring to his younger sibling, Willow Smith.
Further explaining his all-black look and sporting a gold grill, he noted, "I've gone for the Dracula look today."
FKA Twigs rocks a penis dress:
Not only did FKA Twigs make her red carpet debut as a couple with Robert Pattinson at the Met Gala in 2015, but she showed up in a Christopher Kane dress featuring a cartoon pink penis drawn on it.
Pattinson and Twigs ended up calling it quits in October 2017, but they'll forever have this standout Met Gala moment.
Kylie Jenner's dress makes her bleed:
Fashion was literally a pain for Jenner in 2016, thanks to her embellished Balmain gown. After the glamorous night, Jenner got real about what sporting the intricate dress cost her.
"When ur dress made you bleed and ur feet are purple," she wrote alongside a photo of multiple cuts on her leg.
However, she had no regrets.
"It was worth it though," she later wrote.
Reese Witherspoon struggles to pronounce Cara Delevingne's name and also proves herself to be the most fun guest:
Some of the best moments to come out of the Met Gala are the unexpected pairings of A-list celebrities, which happened in 2014 when Witherspoon was with Zooey Deschanel, Kate Upton and Delevingne in an elevator. Delevingne Instagrammed videos of an uninhibited Witherspoon hilariously attempting to pronounce her name, before declaring, "Do you know what the most important thing in a name is, for a girl? That a man can whisper it in his pillow."
Not surprisingly, the videos went viral.
Kim Kardashian wears Marilyn Monroe's dress and causes an uproar:
No stranger to controversy, Kardashian wore one of the Hollywood icon's most famous dresses to the 2022 Met Gala for the theme "In America: An Anthology of Fashion." The sparkling nude dress became part of American history after Monroe wore it while singing "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy in 1962. She told Vogue on the Met Gala red carpet that she lost 16 pounds in three weeks to fit into the famous dress. Kardashian explained that the dress at first didn't fit when she tried it on.
"It was this or nothing," Kardashian said of her determination to fit into the dress. "I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein. I didn’t starve myself, but I was so strict."
Kardashian received plenty of criticism for her drastic weight loss, including a not-so-thinly veiled dig from Lili Reinhart.
"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?" Reinhart wrote on Instagram. "So wrong. So f**ked on 100s of levels."
"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." she added.
Kardashian didn't back down though, telling The New York Times, "To me it was like, 'OK, Christian Bale can do it for a movie role and that is acceptable. Even Renée Zellweger gained weight for a role. It's all the same to me. I wasn’t saying, 'Hey everyone, why don’t you go lose this weight in a short period of time?'"
Kardashian also created outrage from people who claimed she permanently damaged the historic dress while wearing it to pose for red carpet pictures. She later changed into a replica. Ripley's Believe It or Not! later debunked a claim that she had damaged the dress. Though photos leaked online claimed that she had stretched and ripped the fabric's seams, the museum -- which purchased the dress for $4.8 million at an auction in 2016 -- posted a statement to its website that it can say "with confidence" that Kardashian's use did not "cause damage" to the famed garment.
The 2023 Met Gala takes place on May 1 in New York City. The theme this year is "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty" and celebrates the full work and life of the late designer. The exhibition -- which opens to the public on May 5 and closes July 16 -- features 150 of Lagerfeld's designs from Chanel, Balmain, Patou, Fendi, Chloe as well as his own personal line and are accompanied by his sketches. The Chanel creative director died in February 2019. He was 85 years old.
After the theme was announced in September, it sparked backlash due to Lagerfeld's alleged past problematic comments, including in 2009 that "no one wants to see round women." In 2018, he also said he was "fed up" with the #MeToo movement.
The dress code this year is "in honor of Karl." The co-chairs for the spring fashion event are Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz, Dua Lipa, tennis pro Roger Federer, and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. The annual gala is a fundraiser for New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Entertainment Tonight is on the iconic Met Gala red carpet so keep checking back with ETonline for more coverage from fashion's biggest night, including all of the jaw-dropping red carpet looks.
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