Every year, we turn our eagle eyes to the Met Gala red carpet – although it's rarely red, as Miranda Priestly wouldn't find that “groundbreaking.” (Yep, we had to shift a The Devil Wears Prada 2 reference in there, given how timely the film release is.)
So while we're staring at the carpet, hoping to see our favourite artists, actors and models, it's sometimes more worthwhile to take our attention off the carpet. Who didn't attend the 2026 Met Gala? Why didn't they go? We'll dig in to the biggest missing stars of the glitz evening. From scheduling conflicts to subtle snubs, there are plenty of intriguing explanations behind their conspicuous absence this year alone here.
After all, you won’t want to miss how celebrities interpret this year’s Fashion Is Art dress code.
Who isn't at the Met Gala 2026?
Now this one hit us hard, as Zendaya has become a Met Gala mainstay, and her red carpet looks never miss. But she’s reportedly skipping the Met Gala 2026.
Her longtime stylist, Law Roach, told Elle: “It’s one of the first times in my career that going to the Met is about me.”
Zendaya has been booked and busy promoting her new film The Drama, as well as season 3 of Euphoria, plus Dune 3 and her upcoming Spider-Man project, so we can’t really blame her for sitting this one out.
In 2007, Jennifer Garner made her Met Gala debut, but she never returned. In 2023, she told Vogue: “I went to the Met ball exactly one time. I found it a little scary, so I haven't been back. But I wore — that night — this magical red Valentino gown. And I was [Valentino Garavani's] date, and that was really majestic and special.”
This is less shocking, as Billy Porter hasn't attended the Met Gala since 2019. But it is an intriguing one, as his reasoning when asked was, "I don’t go to places where I’m not welcome."
Although Trump attended the Met Gala multiple times in the past, his last appearance was in 2012, and he has not returned since. We don’t expect that to change for 2026, either.
The former Riverdale star Lili Reinhart attended the Met Gala in 2022 and looked stunning in pink florals. But some post-event drama may have sealed her fate in terms of re-attending. She openly criticised Kim Kardashian’s rapid weight loss to fit into the dress Marilyn Monroe famously wore to serenade John F. Kennedy for his 45th birthday.
In a subsequent interview with W Magazine, Lili opened up about the evening, revealing that it “was fun, but after going again this year, I don’t think I’ll be invited back....I said a certain something about a certain person in a certain dress.”
Honestly, what a way to go!
It's not all fun and games at fashion's biggest night.
The first lord and lady of New York City will not be attending their city’s biggest event of the year. In a break with tradition, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani revealed in an interview with Hell Gate that he and his wife Rama Duwaji will not be attending this year's festivities.
“I love the Met. I think that it's an incredible museum,” he said, adding that he remains focused on “making the most expensive city in the United States affordable.”
The former One Direction star attended the 2016 Met Gala with his then-girlfriend Gigi Hadid but made it clear he had no interest in a repeat appearance.
“Now it’s not something I would go to,” Zayn Malik told GQ in 2018. “I’d rather be sitting at my house doing something productive than dressing up in really expensive clothes and being photographed on a red carpet…to do the self-indulgent ‘look at me, I’m amazing’ thing on the red carpet, it’s not me.”
We’re guessing he won’t be receiving another invite after that, though in fashion terms, never say never – especially when it comes to one of the industry’s most exclusive nights.
Despite having attended previously, Timothée Chalamet is not at the Met Gala this year. His girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, was spotted walking the red carpet solo in a striking Schiaparelli gown.
Sources claim the reason for Timothée’s absence is a scheduling clash with the second-round playoffs of the New York Knicks — his favourite team — which he allegedly didn’t want to miss.
If that's true, we’re not impressed with Timmy’s priorities.
Former Vogue political correspondent and current congressional candidate Jack Schlossberg attended the Met Gala in 2017 alongside his mother, Caroline Kennedy, but later called for a boycott of the event in 2025.
Speaking on TikTok, he said, “Hey Anna Wintour! I am boycotting the Met Gala this year with so much happening at home and around the world. It's not the time for a party like that, at least for me. So, I am boycotting the Met Gala this year. ... I think others should as well. It is not the time for a party like that. I am boycotting the Met Gala. No Met Gala.”
Yeah, we don't think he'll wrangle another invite after that.
Despite her Devil Wears Prada character allegedly being based on the queen of the Met Gala herself, Meryl Streep won’t be attending the Met Gala this year.
“Meryl has been invited to the Met Gala for many years but has never attended. While she appreciates Vogue, Anna Wintour, and her incredible imagination and stamina – it has never quite been her scene," Streep’s rep told People.
