Fact Check: Is viral video of Anna Wintour explaining why she banned Donald Trump from Met Gala real?

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A video has been making the rounds supposedly showing Vogue’s queen bee and Met Gala gatekeeper, Anna Wintour, dragging President Donald Trump.

Wintour appears to deliver a sharp monologue explaining why she “permanently removed” Trump from the Met Gala invite list. She allegedly says Trump “never truly belonged” and adds that she didn’t “want this most sacred night in the fashion world to be reduced to someone’s political show."

Anna Wintour's supposed rationale for banning Donald Trump from Met Gala

One X (formerly Twitter) post featuring the video amassed over 1.7 million views with the alleged Anna Wintour quote in the caption. “He hasn’t been canceled he just truly never belonged here," it stated, adding, “If only the government could take this powerful stance. This should be the new Democratic slogan.”

Here’s what the full so-called monologue says:

"I never regret permanently removing Trump from the invitation list of the Met Gala, even though he was the president," she began. "He used to be a guest. At that time, I thought he was just a businessman, but I was wrong. The Met Gala is neither Mar-a-Lago nor a stage for the restoration of the powerful and wealthy."

Wintour continued, "When I host this event, it's not to reserve a seat for him, nor to let his supporters shout 'Make fashion great again' by the red carpet. We make room for art, culture, and the true spirit of innovation, rather than making way for someone who has blatantly belittled women, mocked immigrants, and regarded aesthetics as a bargaining chip. He once tried to persuade me to let him return to the red carpet with the first lady, and also hinted that they were sponsoring brands willing to pay. I refused because the Met Gala is not an exchange."

"He hasn't been canceled. He just never truly belonged here. It's ridiculous that he actually thought he could come back. I don't want this most sacred night in the fashion world to be reduced to someone's political show. Whether he is willing to admit it or not, he's out for good," she concluded.

Fact Check: False

As headline-worthy as that Anna Wintour takedown seems, the entire video is an AI-generated deepfake. It was stitched together using altered footage from a real Vogue interview, paired with an AI-generated voice that sounds like Wintour, Snopes confirmed.

There’s zero evidence that Wintour ever said anything close to what was quoted in the video. A Vogue spokesperson confirmed via email that the clip is “definitely fake.”

The mysterious video first popped up on TikTok, posted by user @kiu1384934c, who’s reportedly known for posting AI-generated celeb content.

While the original post has since vanished from that account (either deleted or taken down), the clip had already spread across platforms like X, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

The deepfake uses footage from Vogue’s 'Go Ask Anna' YouTube series, specifically a 2019 episode called 'Anna Wintour on the Kardashians, Leggings and more'. In that interview, Wintour never mentioned Trump, the Met Gala, or anything political.

Instead, the segment being manipulated in the deepfake had her dishing career advice, specifically on how to dress for an interview. “Your wardrobe is not going to be doing the job for you, it’s who you are,” she said in the original footage, reflecting on how job candidates present themselves at Vogue.

Experts say the voice is 'definitely fake'

A clip of the audio was run through the Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector.

The tool gave the audio a measly score of 2 out of 100, calling it “likely a deepfake.” It also pointed out small giveaways — like the weird pacing of the voice — that hint at artificial generation.

To add even more credibility to the verdict, experts noted that the voice didn’t quite match Wintour’s distinct speech pattern. It was a little too smooth and a little too polished — like a fashionista robot trying to impersonate her, Snopes reported.

Here's the original interview: