Italian model claims he lost his Met Gala job after viral Kylie Jenner interaction

A model has opened up about how his interaction with Kylie Jenner at the 2023 Met Gala ultimately cost him his job.

Just weeks ahead of the 2025 Met Gala, which takes place on May 5, Italian model Eugenio Casnighi has reflected on being disinvited from the annual fashion extravaganza after he unintentionally ‘upstaged’ Jenner on the red carpet.

The 27-year-old model worked as a greeter at the Met Gala in 2022 and 2023. He explained he was hired again for the 2024 Met Gala, but was fired three days before the event was set to take place – which he claimed was because he had gone viral in the background of Jenner’s photos the previous year.

Casnighi explained he was hired to be Jenner’s greeter at the 2023 Met Gala, where his main task was to assist the Kylie Cosmetics founder with anything she needed. 

He claimed Jenner had asked him to stay about five steps away from her, which he said he did, but was allegedly accused of photobombing her photos and trying to upstage her.

‘I don’t think that’s even photobombing because I was assigned to her. If you see other celebrities, they’re always assigned to someone. You probably just didn’t notice the greeter next to them. Kylie gave me a tip before we went on the red carpet,’ Casnighi said in an interview with The Mirror published on Wednesday.

The model claimed Jenner had told him: ‘Don’t get too far from me, or it’ll look weird, like you’re chasing me. But don’t stay too close, or it’ll look like we’re dating.’

He continued: ‘Looking back on it now, that was honestly so true. She wanted me to stay five steps away from her, so that’s how we did it.’

Eugenio Casnighi, 27, claims he was disinvited from the 2024 Met Gala after his stunning looks overshadowed Kylie Jenner during the 2023 event

The Italian model was hired to be Jenner’s greeter at the 2023 Met Gala, where his main task was to assist the Kylie Cosmetics founder with anything she needed

Casnighi reflected on the backlash to the viral photos, as he recalled how fans felt he was ‘ruining her image.’

‘I wasn’t pretending to be her date or anything, I was literally just there, holding her bag. That’s what I was paid to do. I wasn’t looking at the camera,’ the model said.

Despite not being asked back to the Met Gala, Casnighi emphasized that he doesn’t hold Jenner responsible for the incident. 

While he ‘never heard anything’ from the reality TV star’s team after the event, Casnighi maintained that his firing wasn’t her ‘responsibility or problem’ and he doesn’t ‘even know if she remembers the whole story.’

The model also pointed out how Jenner ‘made sure to be by herself on the red carpet’ at the 2024 Met Gala, where the theme was ‘The Garden of Time’ in line with the opening of the Costume Institute’s exhibit, ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.’

‘She didn’t want any help. I don’t know if it’s related to me or not,’ he added.

Although Casnighi has yet to hear back from Jenner’s team about the incident, he did later cross paths with the mother of two during an event at the Brooklyn Museum ‘but obviously there were many people around her.’

Casnighi said: ‘I would have loved to just go to her once and say, “Hi, do you remember me? If anything [from that night] annoyed you, I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention,” just to clear it up. But you know, I think she’s just fine.’

Casnighi went viral in the background of Jenner’s photos on the red carpet, which he claims is why he wasn’t asked back to the Met Gala the following year

In a new interview, the model claimed Jenner had him: ‘Don’t get too far from me, or it’ll look weird, like you’re chasing me. But don’t stay too close, or it’ll look like we’re dating’

Back in May 2024, Casnighi claimed in a viral TikTok video that he had been disinvited from that year’s bash after his beauty was the talk of the 2023 gala.

‘I just got fired from the Met Gala,’ his video began, before showing a picture of him at the gala standing next to Jenner – who was wearing a custom Jean Paul Gaultier red gown with an asymmetrical neckline and thigh-high leg slit.

‘Remember me?’ he asked while pointing at the picture.

Casnighi made sure to mention that his employer was not Vogue or the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which hosts the annual event, but an unnamed company that was contracted to handle staffing for the event.

His TikTok then showed red carpet footage from the 2023 event, where Emma Chamberlain was seen interviewing Blackpink’s Jennie Kim.

Casnighi could be seen standing in the background doing his job, but the person recording the interview was apparently blindsided by his good looks.

The camera drifted away from Chamberlain and Kim and focused on Casnighi’s face.

The footage went viral with text appearing on the screen that said: ‘Trying to focus on Emma interviewing Jennie but…’

Casnighi explained in the TikTok video that he had previously been unable to address all the attention because he was under a non-disclosure agreement.

In his TikTok, Casnighi revealed the Met Gala fired him from working the 2024 event a mere three days before it was scheduled to take place

Casnighi worked as a greeter at the 2023 Met Gala, during which his rugged looks quickly caught people’s attention

The camera’s gaze quickly drifted from Chamberlain and Kim and lingered on Casnighi

‘It’s funny enough,’ the model said, ‘they fired me so I can say whatever I want now.’

He then divulged he was supposed to be back again for the 2024 Met Gala but was shocked to find out he wasn’t welcome, despite being confirmed to attend a month prior.

According to Casnighi, the event’s organizers allegedly said he was at fault for all of the attention.

‘They blamed me,’ the model claimed. ‘They said, “You made it about yourself, so we don’t want to work with you anymore.”

‘They let me know today that they cut me off,’ he said. ‘They fired me because I went viral last year.’

Speaking to DailyMail.com after posting the video, Casnighi lifted the lid on what it was like to be a part of the exclusive event.

He revealed that at the past two Met Galas, one mysterious celeb ‘got in trouble because they started smoking in the tent before the stairs.’

‘That’s not allowed,’ Casnighi explained. ‘But this person did not care. They are very famous, so they can do whatever they want,’ he added, declining to reveal who the celebrity was.

For the 2023 Met Gala, Jenner wore a custom Jean Paul Gaultier red gown with an asymmetrical neckline and thigh-high leg slit

While this year’s guest list has yet to be confirmed, it’s likely Jenner (pictured at 2024 Met Gala) will be among the high-profile attendees at the 2025 Met Gala

The Italian model said that the organizers asked the celebrity to stop smoking.

In response, Casnighi said the celebrity retorted: ‘No, what are you going to do about that?’

In his experience working the event, Casnighi found everyone to be nice.

While he wouldn’t say that any of the guests ‘have been rude to him,’ he revealed how when the celebrities first arrive, they aren’t sure who is working the event and who is attending it.

‘I’m not wearing a name tag, so at first they don’t know if I’m an employee. And when realize I’m working there… some people completely change,’ he said.

‘They kind of vanish. They stop talking to me and start talking to the actual guests.’

DailyMail.com has contacted Vogue for comment. Jenner’s representatives have denied any involvement in the alleged firing. 

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk