Is the Met Gala dead? Fans compare fashion’s biggest night to a FUNERAL as big stars fail to show on red carpet

On what is considered to be fashion’s biggest night, the 2025 Met Gala is being slammed as ‘boring’ and ‘underwhelming’ after failing to deliver the star power and glamour of years past.

The annual invite-only soiree kicked off Monday at New York City’s famed Metropolitan Museum of Art with A-list fixtures like Blake Lively, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry noticeably missing from the guest list.

While this year’s theme ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’ presented an opportunity for ‘boundary-pushing’ looks, the red carpet was besieged by celebrities in drab black and gray outfits.

Even bombshells like Sydney Sweeney and Dua Lipa failed to stand-out as they made the trek up the museum’s iconic staircase in forgettable gowns.

While ‘not following the theme’ is typically a major faux pas, Gigi Hadid’s slinky gold Miu Miu gown was a welcome reprieve among a sea of dreary dresses and suits.

Fans compared the 2025 event to a ‘funeral’ as they flocked to social media to voice their disappointment — with some even speculating that the Met Gala is ‘dead.’

On what is considered to be fashion’s biggest night, the 2025 Met Gala is being slammed as ‘boring’ and ‘underwhelming’ after failing to deliver the star power and glamour of years past; (L-R) Karlie Kloss, Suki Waterhouse, S.Coups and Georgina Rodriguez pictured

‘Maybe it’s the theme, I don’t know but so far the outfits at the Met Gala have been so dull, boring & just underwhelming #Met Gala,’ one fan tweeted out on X.

Another declared that the 2025 event was the ‘most boring #MetGala ever.’

Fans were exhausted seeing the same ‘boring suits’ worn by likes of Hollywood hunks Jeremy Allen White and Callum Turner on the red carpet.

Some wondered if celebrities were ‘misunderstanding’ the year’s theme — focused on Black dandyism — or if it accidentally encouraged ‘boring’ looks.

‘You know the theme is boring when most people look basic and even Zendaya flopped,’ one X user remarked.

While the night’s ‘boring’ outfits dominated the conversation on social media, many Met Gala devotees couldn’t help but remark on the lack of star power.

Many were left disappointed as they wasted time waiting for Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Blake Lively to ‘show up.’

Swift skipped the Met Gala despite both her and her NFL star boyfriend Travis Kelce being invited by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. 

Swift’s schedule is seemingly wide open after wrapping her billion-dollar Eras Tour late last year while Kelce is enjoying NFL off-season.

While this year’s theme ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’ presented an opportunity for ‘boundary-pushing’ looks, the red carpet was besieged by celebrities in drab black and gray outfits; Helen Lasichanh and Pharrell Williams pictured 

Adrien Brody and girlfriend Georgina Chapman were also among the attendees who played it safe in ‘dull’ all-black

Fans compared the 2025 event to a ‘funeral’ as they flocked to social media to voice their disappointment — with some even speculating that the Met Gala is ‘dead’

One fan declared that the 2025 event was the ‘most boring #MetGala ever’; (L-R) Ashley Graham and Lorde

Some wondered if celebrities were ‘misunderstanding’ the year’s theme — focused on Black dandyism — or if it accidentally encouraged ‘boring’ looks; Aimee Lou Wood pictured

While the night’s ‘boring’ outfits dominated the conversation on social media, many Met Gala devotees couldn’t help but remark on the lack of star power; Bebe Rexha pictured

However, a source told TMZ on Monday that the couple chose to opt out of the 2025 event due to ‘their schedules.’

Both Lady Gaga and Katy Perry — who have become fan-favorite Met Gala attendees with their fierce looks — are currently on their respective world tours.

Blake Lively’s absence from the event is somewhat expected as she and her husband Ryan Reynolds are currently in the midst of a headline-making legal war with It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni.

Last month TMZ reported that the longtime couple would not be attending the 2025 Met Gala but that it has nothing to do with  Lively’s multi-million dollar sexual harassment lawsuit agains Baldoni.

Insiders told the outlet that Lively and Reynolds’ made the decision not to attend before the drama began to unfold in December 2024. 

‘Blake and Ryan haven’t gone since 2022, when they were co-chairs, and they will not be in attendance this year,’ a separate source told PEOPLE in April.

Also missing from the 2025 action were Met Gala favorites like Selena Gomez, Billie Eilish, Beyonce, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ariana Grande and Bella Hadid.

Fashion’s biggest night out kicked off on Monday, May 5th at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The event has a theme each year, with this year’s theme as ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,’ inspired by Monica Miller’s work, which includes her book Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.

Monica is the chair of Africana Studies at Barnard College, as well as a professor at the institute.

A-list fixtures like Blake Lively , Taylor Swift , Lady Gaga and Katy Perry noticeably missing from the guest list; Swift seen in 2016

Lady Gaga, known for her memorable Met Gala looks, missed the 2025 event due to her ongoing Mayhem world tour; Gaga seen in 2019

Met Gala fan-favorite Katy Perry was also absent as she prepares to launch the US leg of her Lifetimes Tour this week; Perry seen in 2019

According to Monica, Black danyism is ‘a strategy and a tool to rethink identity, to reimagine the self in a different context. To really push a boundary – especially during the time of enslavement, to really push a boundary on who and what counts as human, even,’ via Vogue.

The accompanying exhibit will showcase everything from garments to paintings, photographs, and video, all spotlighting the fashion of Black men.

The 2025 gala theme focuses on menswear, 22 years after the ‘Men In Skirts’ theme – which was the first gala to focus only on menswear.

The Met Gala 2025 will be co-chaired by Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Colman Domingo, Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour, with Lebron James as the honorary chair.

The guest list for the annual soiree was leaked just hours before kick off.

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