Met Gala 2025 branded ‘dead’ as major stars ghost red carpet and fans slam 'dull and disappointing' night

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: On a night that’s supposed to be fashion’s Super Bowl, the 2025 Met Gala seemingly fell flat.

The annual invite-only bash — held Monday night at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art — was immediately called out by critics for being “boring” and “underwhelming."

With A-listers like Blake Lively, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Ariana Grande, and Katy Perry all noticeably absent, the energy was off from the start.

Met Gala 2025 taken over by dreary fashion as A-list stars give it a miss

This year’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” should’ve been the ultimate playground for boundary-pushing fashion. But instead of bold tailoring and reimagined silhouettes, the red carpet looked like a grayscale filter.

Drab black and gray dominated the night, and even red carpet darlings Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber, and Kim Kardashian failed to rise to the occasion. They walked up the museum’s iconic steps in arguably forgettable looks, the Daily Mail reported.

Ironically, Gigi Hadid — who showed up in a slinky gold Miu Miu gown — was one of the few who didn’t follow the theme, but no one seemed to mind. Her look was a welcome reprieve in a sea of safe suits and sad dresses.

Social media slams 'dull and disappointing' Met Gala 2025

Fans flooded social media with savage takes that lit the gala on fire in the worst way possible.

"No Ariana, no riri, no bella hadid, no billie, oh the met gala is DYING," one posted on X.

"Met Gala theme is so boring this year, everyone’s just wearing black and white and/or suits i’m boreddddd," another complained.

"What on earth are these dull and disappointing #MetGala looks so far? Did anyone even try this year? All I’ve seen is basic b&w, big hats, and no pants. Somebody please come save this dying event immediately," a comment read.

"Anybody else feel like this Met Gala has [lowkey] been a chop this year? Like 90% of the outfits have been boring and unrelated to the theme, and the carpet itself is ugly... all of the other years have cleared this, I fear," someone else insisted.

"I’m going to be honest, you guys, the Met Gala is officially dead. I feel like I’m doing this against my will, but I told you guys that I would try to tweet out all of the looks from the Met Gala, but I am heavily,y heavily disappointed, this is f***ing stupid!" another fumed.

Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga conspicuous by their absence

While the fashion flops grabbed headlines, what really stung was the silence from Met Gala royalty. Fans were left hanging -hoping the likes of Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, or Blake Lively would magically appear. But they never did.

Swift — who had both herself and NFL boyfriend Travis Kelce invited by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour — skipped the event entirely. And while she has no current tour and Kelce’s on NFL off-season, TMZ reported that “their schedules” were the reason they passed.

Meanwhile, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry are both out on their respective world tours.

As for Blake Lively, she and husband Ryan Reynolds are neck-deep in a courtroom showdown involving 'It Ends With Us' director Justin Baldoni. Lively’s multi-million dollar sexual harassment lawsuit has made headlines, but insiders told TMZ the Met Gala absence had nothing to do with it.

In fact, they reportedly made the decision before the drama began to unfold in December. “Blake and Ryan haven't gone since 2022, when they were co-chairs, and they will not be in attendance this year,” a source told People back in April.

Other big names missing from the 2025 red carpet included Selena Gomez, Billie Eilish, Beyonce, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Lopez, Ariana Grande, and Bella Hadid. 

Met Gala 2025: Thoughtful theme poorly executed

The theme “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” was inspired by the work of Monica Miller — chair of Africana Studies at Barnard College — whose book 'Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity' laid the groundwork for this year’s concept.

Miller told Vogue that Black dandyism is “a strategy and a tool to rethink identity, to reimagine the self in a different context. To really push a boundary — especially during the time of enslavement, to really push a boundary on who and what counts as human, even.”

It was a powerful message, but it seems the red carpet didn’t rise to meet it.

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