Fact Check: Do these images show Laree Chante at 2026 Met Gala in a dress with Epstein headlines?

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Viral images circulating online claim to show a woman named Laree Chante attending the 2026 Met Gala in a dress made from newspaper clippings about the late financier and convicted offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The images surfaced amid widespread buzz about the Met Gala, the annual fundraising fashion event hosted for the benefit of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which once again drew major celebrities and global media coverage.

Claim: Laree Chante makes a fashion statement tied to the Jeffrey Epstein case

An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the alleged images on May 5 with the caption, “Best dress at the Gala! RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES.” The same images also circulated on Facebook and Instagram, sometimes accompanied by similar visuals of the supposed Met Gala attendee.

A post from an Instagram page called waiipod claimed, "At the Met Gala, Laree Chanté didn’t just make a fashion statement, she made a political one. Wearing a gown printed with headlines tied to the Jeffrey Epstein case, she brought the focus back to victims and the systems of power often accused of protecting the powerful."

The post also stated that, "In her own words, she questioned the very structure of the event, calling out patriarchy, capitalism and classism, and suggesting that visible figures often act as fronts for deeper power networks. The contrast is stark."

The caption concluded, "One of the world’s biggest cultural events becomes a stage not just for fashion, but for uncomfortable questions about influence, accountability, and who really holds power behind the scenes."

A Facebook user shared the images of Laree Chante with the caption, “The best dressed at the Met 🙌 Laree Chanté.”

Fact Check: No images were found of Laree Chante from 2026 Met Gala

The images of Laree Chante were analyzed using reverse image search tools, including Google Lens. Additional searches were conducted on platforms such as DuckDuckGo, Google, and Yahoo using the query “Laree Chante Met Gala Dress.”

If the images were real, it would likely have been documented by photographers on the Met Gala red carpet and archived in reputable media databases such as Getty Images. However, no such records were found.

A review of official Met Gala attendee lists published by outlets like Vanity Fair also showed no individual named Laree Chante, further indicating that the images do not depict a real attendee or outfit from the event. Based on these findings, the images do not appear to be authentic and is consistent with content generated using artificial intelligence.

Further investigation traced the origin of the image to the Instagram account @mslareechante, which posted it on May 4. The account’s bio describes Chante as an “AI Prompt Queen” who creates images using artificial intelligence tools.

The account primarily features AI-generated content, and the Epstein-themed dress was part of a series of similar AI-created Met Gala-style images.

Posts before and after included other AI-generated designs, such as a newspaper-themed dress referencing social and political slogans and an American flag-themed outfit with text addressing historical and political themes.  

Based on this evidence, the image has been identified as AI-generated and not an authentic photograph from the Met Gala.