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From Lady Di ‘wandering in a nightie’ to Beyoncé’s family brawl: The biggest Met Gala scandals

The event has become an annual gathering of the world’s most talked-about celebrities. Many of them, in turn, use their appearance at the event to spark conversation — or controversy

Patricia Rodríguez

May 04, 2025 - 06:00CEST

The elevator fight. More than a decade has passed, but it’s still likely the most talked-about controversy in Met Gala history. After the 2014 dinner, Beyoncé, her husband Jay-Z, and her sister Solange were heading to an afterparty at The Standard hotel when one of the elevator cameras captured a fight between Solange and Jay-Z. As Beyoncé stood by impassively, her sister confronted her husband and then began hitting and kicking him until a bodyguard intervened. A few days later, they released a statement saying the issue had been resolved: “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.” There was much speculation about the cause of the altercation, with the prevailing theory being infidelity on the rapper’s part — something Beyoncé seemed to confirm in several songs over the following years.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin (FilmMagic)

The supermodels’ no-show. The 2009 Costume Institute exhibit was dedicated to the dialogue between designers and models — their role as muses. Few relationships embodied that bond more than those between Azzedine Alaïa and the top models. That’s why it was so surprising that the Tunisian designer was barely represented in the show: only one of his dresses appeared, and not even physically, but rather in a photograph by Gilles Bensimon. When Alaïa learned of the slight, he asked his close friends not to wear his dresses. But both Naomi Campbell and Stephanie Seymour went one step further and skipped the ceremony, snubbing the all-powerful Anna Wintour. On the day of the gala, journalist Cathy Horyn spoke with Alaïa. This is what she reported in 'The New York Times': “He blamed the omission not on the Met’s chief costume curator Harold Koda, but rather on Anna Wintour, the editor in chief of Vogue, who organizes the party. 'She has too much power over this museum,' he said. (Alaïa has had very little presence in Vogue in the last 15 years.)" he blamed not the Met’s chief costume curator, Harold Koda, Alaïa has had very little presence in Vogue over the past 15 years.” Samir Hussein (Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Wintour's vetoes. The mystique surrounding how the guest list for the coveted event is curated has filled gigabytes of discussions and articles online. As Alaïa pointed out, Anna Wintour has the final say, and many have complained about being banned from the event. Stylist Rachel Zoe, for example, mentioned that she lost her invitation after claiming in an interview that she was more influential than Wintour herself, as her work had a greater impact on celebrities' careers than simply appearing in 'Vogue.' In any case, the only veto truly confirmed by the editor is the one she imposed on Donald Trump. She mentioned it during an appearance on 'The Late Late Show with James Corden' in 2018. Although the president had been a regular at the event since the 1980s, he has not attended since 2012.Dimitrios Kambouris (FilmMagic)

Kim Kardashian's body. Kim Kardashian complained for years about not being invited to the elitist event until, in 2013, Wintour finally gave in. Since that first appearance, her arrival on the red carpet has become a subject of controversy year after year. In 2013, pregnant with her daughter North West, she wore a floral printed design by Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy, which quickly became a meme of the night. Internet users compared her to a sofa, and the reality star did not take it well, crying on her way home. Years later, she said that the "body-shaming" she endured during her pregnancy "would not be accepted today." We’ll never know for sure because for her two younger children, Chicago (2018) and Psalm (2019), she used surrogates. What we do know is that the founder of Skims has turned her body into a device for generating headlines. In the 2022 edition, she did so by wearing Marilyn Monroe's iconic museum dress and shared that she had lost seven kilograms in three weeks to fit into it. Some argued that she was glorifying weight loss in front of millions of followers. She defended herself in 'Allure' magazine: "If I was starving and doing it really unhealthy, I would say that, of course, that's not a good message. But I had a nutritionist, I had a trainer. I have never drunk more water in my life. I don't see the criticism for other people when they lost weight for roles—they are [considered] geniuses for their craft." She must not have been too negatively affected because in 2024, she once again resorted to compressing her body for a photo with a corset, betting on the epic of suffering to become the most photographed and controversial guest of the night. Her design was by John Galliano, who, whether intentionally or not, is linked to several controversies surrounding the Met.Lexie Moreland (WWD via Getty Images)

A princess in a "nightie." The 1996 edition was dedicated to the figure of Christian Dior, with the luxury conglomerate LVMH sponsoring the event. It was decided that the guest of honor, Princess Diana of Wales, would wear the first haute couture creation from the designer of the moment, John Galliano, who had just joined the house. The British designer crafted a midnight blue dress cut on the bias, which Diana paired with pearls and sapphires. But perhaps it was the exhaustion from jet lag or simply boredom with the event, but Lady Di posed for the photographers and then disappeared. “Some wondered if she fled because she was embarrassed by how she looked: The dress had been deemed a dud,” writes Dana Thomas in her book 'Gods and Kings.' The journalist also reflects on the reviews the look received in the British press. Thomas writes: "The British press was aghast that the mother of their future king was, as 'The Guardian’s' Louisa Young wrote, 'wandering around the Costume Institute Ball in her nightie.' 'The Daily Mail' concurred: 'The problem, and there is no delicate way of saying this, is she wasn’t wearing a bra. A woman with Diana’s figure needs more support. And it’s an inescapable fact that the slip dress looks best on those hardly out of their teens.' Years later, Galliano himself shared in the documentary 'In Vogue: The 90s' that the design had actually been conceived with an interior bustier, but at the last moment, Lady Di decided to remove it. “I just remember her getting out of the car,” the designer explained in the documentary, “I couldn’t believe it. She'd ripped the corset out. She didn’t want to wear the corset. She felt so liberated. She'd torn the corset out, and the dress was much more sensual.” New York Daily News (NY Daily News via Getty Images)

Nudity? That depends on who decides to embrace transparency and how they do it. Like any public event focused on aesthetics, the coverage of the Met Gala has a shameful history of misogyny. This is especially evident when women are the ones strolling down the red carpet in revealing outfits. It's acceptable if the women in question are attractive celebrities with "ideal" body types, like models Kendall Jenner (wearing La Perla in 2017) or Emily Ratajkowski (in any of her appearances), or singer Beyoncé (in a transparent Givenchy dress in 2015). The situation changes if the male gaze is challenged, or if the woman opting for a revealing look is 58 years old. Like Madonna in 2016, when she appeared on every worst-dressed list for her choice: a black Givenchy dress by Tisci with straps and sheer details. She dismissed the criticism with a message: “My dress at the Met Ball was a political statement as well as a fashion statement. The fact that people actually believe a woman is not allowed to express her sexuality and be adventurous past a certain age is proof that we still live in an ageist and sexist society.”Rabbani and Solimene Photography (Getty Images)

Orientalism. The imperialist view of other regions of the world has been a recurring theme at the Met Gala, practically since its inception. In the 1980s, the exhibition had dedicated themes to the dresses of the Chinese Qing dynasty or to clothing in India during British colonialism, and “Visions of the East in Western Dress” was the focus of the 1994 exhibition. However, by 2015, sensitivity had evolved, and many did not understand some of the choices made to honor that year's theme, "China: Through the Looking Glass." Several celebrities relied on clichés and exploited stereotypes in their outfits, which was not well-received in the global forum that is the internet. That night, the red carpet showcased institutionalized racism, seen in Lady Gaga's Japanese kimono, Dakota Johnson's handbag shaped like a Chinese woman, Karolina Kurkova's red satin robe, or the headpiece designed by Phillip Treacy for Sarah Jessica Parker, inspired by the "dragon lady" stereotype that sexualizes Chinese women.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin (FilmMagic)

Upsetting the Church. Some sectors of the Catholic Church were also displeased with the use of religious iconography during the opening of the 2018 exhibition "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination." Although the Vatican had lent dozens of papal garments for the show, they didn’t agree with guests using those references in their looks. It was especially upsetting that singer Rihanna crowned herself with a papal mitre as part of her outfit — designed, of course, by John Galliano.John Shearer (Getty Images for The Hollywood R)

ChatGPT said: Controversial honorees. The debate over whether it’s necessary to separate the artist from their work landed squarely at the Met Gala (always in tune with the times) in its 2023 edition, dedicated to Karl Lagerfeld. The famed designer had earned a place of honor as a provocateur known for controversial statements on all sorts of topics. His fatphobia was well-documented, as was his outdated view of the fashion industry — like when, after the rise of the #MeToo movement among models, he snapped, “If you don’t want your pants pulled about, don’t become a model.” He would use even the most trivial comments to criticize his rivals, as when he said tattoos were horrible because they were like “living all your life in a Pucci dress.” Perhaps the smartest way to avoid taking a stance on the red carpet came from Doja Cat, who dressed as his beloved cat Choupette and answered reporters’ questions with meows.GWR/Star Max (GC Images)