I’m by no means a fashion girl and have never listened live to the Met Gala red carpet, but I always look forward to memes and tea the next day. The annual event, held on the first Monday in May, is a fundraiser for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Last year’s party brought in more than $17 million; this year’s total has yet to be released.)
Each edition has a theme, and this year was “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” ahead of the Costume Institute’s upcoming namesake exhibition examining the work of the late fashion designer and creative director of Fendi and Chanel, who died in 2019. Lagerfeld is credited with reviving Chanel’s reputation and pushing the boundaries; However, he was also criticized over the years for its notoriously bigoted attitudes toward migrants, tall people, and many other subgroups.
Sadly, none of that was dampened by the rollout of the celebrity red carpet, a highly anticipated part of the night that usually produces a bountiful abundance of memes the following day. This year’s gala was interrupted by one of the driest themes that left almost no room for interpretation, with many resorting to repetitive works of black and white tweed, beads and chains and cutouts of unimaginative dress.
Nonetheless, we persisted — so here’s a roundup of the Met Gala memes that caused my nose to exhale louder than usual.
The highlight of the entire evening that brought some much-needed NYC reality to fashion’s most important night of the year was Variety live coverage of the cockroach scurrying across the striped carpet. Photographer Kevin Mazur took some good detailed shots of the cockroach-turned-deer before it died that evening, and painter Travis Chapman immortalized the unexpected guest posing on the red carpet. Talk about engaging with the theme!
Naturally, the internet took it as one of the few memorable and memorable moments of the evening and treated the now-deceased icon, possibly an ambassador for La Roach-Posay, from the evening with the greatest respect from fan art to funeral cards.
Then we looked, we guessed, and we…lost? For as long as I can remember, men attending the Met Gala have been dragged down the aisle by their hair for showing up to the venue in plain black suits. Every year, the same Spiderman meme is pulled from the shelf and dusted off for its rounds during and after the Met Gala. See below:
However, this year they were okay and we weren’t ashamed to admit it! Honestly, this was the greatest effort I’ve ever seen:
Unfortunately, no one followed the advice above…Slay detected it nonetheless. But enough with that, I know you’re all here for the roasts. So without further ado:
Look, I’ll never complain about seeing Janelle Monáe and I’m certainly a fitness witness, but the resemblance is uncanny.
Olivia Wilde has unwittingly raised awareness for those of us with higher flows – no choice but to stand! 😍
But she wasn’t the only one…
Yikes: Rihanna’s obligatory pregnancy meme that’s on-brand.
An annual Pete Davidson slander with this photo that really wasn’t on anyone’s 2023 prediction bingo card…
Catfight on the red carpet? I know, it was a handy fruit… But look what I’m working with here!
However, perhaps the sentiment that resonates the most across the internet — even more so than cockroach memes — is that we should all end this boring evening. I hope I will have more material for you next year.
