Did you notice a few of your faves were missing from the Met Gala 2024 red carpet? Namely, superstars like Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Blake Lively, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, and well, many more.
This year's gala was skipped by quite a few A-listers and Met favourites, and their reasons for not attending the ball are super diverse: there's a golfing injury, the flu, working late 'cause they are singers, and, of course, travel and tour schedules.
With these celebs in such high demand, it makes sense that there are some years they have to miss one of the most exclusive parties in the world. I mean, hell, even 2024 co-chair Zendaya took five years off from the event. But we can't help but express our sadness that they weren't present to turn a show-stopping look.
While details still unfold about why so many stars chose not to sow their seeds in The Garden of Time, below, check out a list of the usual, ol' reliable Met suspects who did not attend this year's gala.
Taylor Swift
…and Travis Kelce
Fans were hopeful, but neither Taylor Swift nor her boyfriend Travis Kelce made a Met Gala appearance this year. It's thought that Taylor is taking a break ahead of kicking off the European leg of her Eras tour later this week.
Blake Lively
Another forever-popular Met Gala attendee is Blake Lively, who hasn't appeared on the famous steps since 2022. She and husband Ryan Reynolds opted to stay away, despite Blake making a New York appearance just a few days ago. So far, she's kept schtum as to why.
Rihanna
Fashion fans were decidedly gutted when they didn't see RiRi attend this year's Met (especially after she had previously teased her outfit plans in a recent interview) – but sadly, she couldn't attend due to falling ill with the flu.
A$AP Rocky
Hopefully A$AP hasn't succumbed to the same lurgy – but either way, he didn't attend alongside partner Rihanna as expected.
Beyoncé
Many hoped 2024 might be the year that Beyoncé made her return to the Met Gala, having not made an appearance since 2016. But despite the Cowboy Carter hype, she stayed away – maintaining her more elusive red carpet status in recent years.
Billie Eilish
Billie has wowed at the Met Gala every time since making her debut in 2021 – attending every successive event since – but not this year. With the upcoming release of her new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, and a world tour coming in 2025, it seems she is focusing on music at the moment – sharing news of upcoming listening parties on the day of the Met, instead of walking the carpet.
Tom Holland
Since girlfriend Zendaya attended as co-chair, many fans hoped they might see Tom Holland make his debut at the Met Gala – but it was not to be. Tom is set to star in Romeo & Juliet on London's West End from May 11, so he's no doubt busy with final rehearsals.
Katy Perry
Met Gala icon Katy Perry was nowhere to be seen on the red carpet this year, either. There was plenty of confusion, however, when AI images of the star began circulating on social media – with Katy confirming that even her mum was fooled. “Couldn’t make it to the MET, had to work,” she captioned the (scarily uncanny) reproduction.
Instagram content
A version of this article originally appeared on Teen Vogue.
