Met Gala 2024: From Blake Lively to Billie Eilish, a look at celebrities who skipped the event this year

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: This year’s Met Gala is officially over and several stars, including Kim Kardashian and Lana Del Rey, made head-turning appearances on the iconic stairs.

Every year on the first Monday of May, the celebrities adorn themselves in their sartorial best to walk on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's grand staircase, per Cosmopolitan.

While a few chosen celebrities got the invitation to the charity event, some very popular faces decided to give the event a miss. Rihanna and Blake Lively are some of the regular faces whose absence was keenly felt at the 2024 version of the event.

Celebrities who decided to give it a miss

Blake Lively

Among the celebrities who were conspicuously absent from the event, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' names come foremost. A stunner on the Met Gala red carpet, Lively, who often emerges as the best-dressed celebrity in the fashion Super Bowl, did not attend this year's gala.

She missed the Met Gala for the second time in a row after first missing it in 2023 after welcoming her fourth child. The reason for her absence is not yet known, but fans are disheartened nevertheless.

Rihanna

Rihanna, who mostly walks as the show-stopper of Met Gala, sadly gave it a miss this year after coming down with flu. In 2023, she had walked the stairs as a heavily pregnant soon-to-be-mother.

What makes it even more sad is that the pop superstar already had her looks planned for the event. Previously, she shared with Extra, “I’m actually just keeping it real simple this year...Very simple...I think it’s gonna come to what my makeup and what my hair is going to do. We wanna play with that, but I have no idea what I’m gonna do with that.”

Taylor Swift

Besides Rihanna, the current pop sensation of the world, Taylor Swift, was another acutely felt absence. Previously, it was reported that both Swift and her NFL star beau Travis Kelce "individually received" invites but they 'RSVP'd 'no'."

It has also been speculated that Swift probably gave this year's celebration a miss as the 14-time Grammy winner is recommencing her 'Eras Tour' from May 9 with a concert in Paris. 

She walked the Met stairs last time in 2016 when she co-chaired the event with Anna Wintour, Idris Elba and Jonathan Ive.

Billie Eilish

Several musicians skipped this year's Met and Billie Eilish is one of them. The songstress, who was promoting her latest album 'Hit Me Hard and Soft' over the last few days, missed this year's event.

After making her Met Gala debut in 2021, the two-time Oscar winner last walked the Met stairs in 2023. Her absence, after winning her second Oscar for her 'Barbie' soundtrack, left her fans disheartened.

Jared Leto

Jared Leto has created some of the most memorable looks for the Met Gala. Apart from carrying a mask imitating his own face, he dressed as Karl Lagerfield's cat Choupette for 2023.

Needless to say, his absence created a huge void on the Met Gala stairs as the fans missed another original look from the musician and actor. The 'Morbius' star, however, has a good reason for skipping the event.

Leto missed the event as his band 30 Seconds has emarked to Europe for their Seasons World Tour. He previously told E! News, "Back on the road," before adding, "It's been five years. I will be there in spirit with my head and my cat wishing everybody a beautiful night."

Emily Blunt

Emily Blunt was also a memorable miss in this year's event. The 'Oppenheimer' star, however, previously addressed the issue and shared with her fans that she would not be attending the event.

During the presser for 'The Fall Guy' premiere, Blunt shared the news, saying, “I’m not going this year," before adding, "I’m actually going to get back on a film set, I haven’t been on a film set in, like, a year and a half.” Blunt is due to appear in a new movie titled 'The Smashing Machine' with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, scheduled to release in 2025. 

Internet disheartened by favorite stars not attending Met Gala

Fans were left heartbroken after they realized their favorite stars were not gracing this year's Met Gala.

One of the fans said, "Met gala is over ?? no rihanna? no beyonce? no billie eilish? no taylor swift? no katy perry? no lady gaga? no blake lively? Wth??"

Someone else added, "Met Gala 2024 was boring No Selena Gomez No Taylor Swift No Blake and Ryan."

"No billie eilish, taylor swift, rihanna, blake lively, katy perry… the met gala is so over," said a third.

A fourth lamented, "So no Blake Lively? #MetGala."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.