Monday night’s Met Gala was packed with some of the biggest names in fashion, including Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Rita Ora.
But a list of the usual attendees was not shown this year, leading horrified fashion fans to wonder what was going on.
This year’s dress code for the fashion extravaganza was Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty – a tribute to the controversial German fashion designer, known for his work with Chanel, who passed away in 2019.
But Blake Lively’s absence has been so widely noticed that she’s been trending on Twitter after her previous Met Gala looks have been praised year after year.
Fans tweeted, “There’s no Met Gala without Blake Lively,” sharing her past fashion masterpieces on social media.
It is INCOMPLETE! Fans went wild when Met Gala icon Blake Lively declined to attend Monday’s event, and her BFFs Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry and Bella Hadid also failed to show up
But the 35-year-old did confirm that she would not be attending the event in April, which was themed on Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.
During the grand reopening of Tiffany & Co.’s Fifth Avenue store, she told press that rather than gracing the carpet, she would be watching from home.
According to Glamour, after a reporter complimented her on her 2022 look, she replied, “Thanks, that’s very cute. That’s what I’m wearing on my couch on Monday.”
Blake and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 46, have been attending the event for years.
Blake co-chaired last year’s In America: An Anthology of Fashion gala and arrived in a stunning Versace gown inspired by the Statue of Liberty.
But Blake and Ryan welcomed their fourth child together earlier this year and Blake only returned to the red carpet earlier this week.
Likewise, her BFF Taylor Swift, 33, was also absent after attending in previous years.
But her absence is easily explained because she just played three shows in Atlanta, Georgia for her Eras tour, including one the night before.
you miss her! People weren’t happy that Blake was watching the event from her couch, but she confirmed she wouldn’t be attending last month, having recently welcomed her fourth child
It has been reported that she is spending the evening preparing for her Nashville shows, which she will be performing over the weekend.
Taking to Instagram, she wrote: “WOW Atlanta just…wow. The band, the dancers and I can’t stop talking about how insanely magical it has been playing for you guys over the last 3 nights.
“You’re always jumping, dancing, screaming at every song’s lyrics. And you created so many breathtaking moments for us, you know what I mean. Love you. Hey Nashville, you’re NEXT.”
Beyoncé, 41, also chose not to attend and has not graced the Met Gala with her attendance since 2016.
But it’s understandable that she might not go as her Renaissance World Tour kicks off in Stockholm on May 10th so she’s busy preparing for it.
In 2022, she and her musician husband Jay-Z were photographed in Miami after spending time on a private island off the Florida coast.
In 2021, the superstar duo jetted to Europe for a romantic vacation and were spotted enjoying their time on a large yacht.
Lady Gaga, 37, is known for her iconic looks on the Met Gala red carpet, but she has now missed two years in a row.
She has been inactive on social media but has been busy promoting her new film, Joker: Folie à Deux, which she recently directed.
Last year, Gaga was performing at her Las Vegas residency show, Jazz and Piano, at this time, so she couldn’t attend.
Her last Met Gala appearance was at the 2019 event, where she had four fabulous outfit changes — literally — on the red carpet.
Selena Gomez, 30, was maybe four years away from the Met, but she wasn’t returning to grace the red carpet, either.
She’s been busy promoting Rare Beauty and Wondermind, and while she was recently in New York to film season three of her TV series Only Murders in the Building, ELLE reported that she arrived in the city shortly after filming wrapped left to take a break.
Katy Perry, 38, is something of a queen when it comes to her looks at the Met Gala, so she must have been pretty disappointed to miss out on this year’s spectacle.
But she had filming commitments on American Idol, so she couldn’t make it.
Chrissy Teigen was another no-show with no reason given for not being present.
The presence of supermodel Bella Hadid was particularly missed at the event.
The 26-year-old has yet to publicly comment on her absence, but a recent Instagram post suggests she may be busy having a little downtime.
Bella recently shared videos of herself horseback riding while believed to be at the family farm in Pennsylvania.
Other notable absences included members of the Kardashian/Jenner family.
Neither Kris Jenner, 67, Kourtney Kardashian, 44, nor Khloe Kardashian, 38, were in attendance, with rumors their invitations were lost in the mail.