The annual Costume Institute ball has generated more than a decade\u2019s worth of controversies. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n
The Met Gala has a history of stepping on the wrong hem.<\/p>\n
Fashion\u2019s biggest night has racked up its share of scandals <\/a>over the years, from controversial themes and divisive honorees to red-carpet political statements and reviled billionaire sponsors.<\/p>\n The latest fiasco \u2014 the unprecedented cancellation of the 2027 John Galliano exhibit one month after its announcement, after mounting pressure from Jewish leaders, city officials and Met donors \u2014 is just another reminder that the first Monday in May doesn\u2019t always go according to plan.<\/p>\n John Galliano: Horizons (2027)<\/p>\n John Galliano withdrew from his planned 2027 Met exhibit on Aug. 31 following weeks of pressure from Jewish leaders and Met donors. Dave Benett\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The Costume Institute announced in July that the British designer would be the subject of its spring 2027 exhibition<\/a>, making him only the third living designer to receive a solo Met show.<\/p>\n Backlash was immediate. Galliano was fired from Dior in 2011 and found guilty in a French court of \u201cpublic insults\u201d after videos surfaced of him saying \u201cI love Hitler\u201d and directing antisemitic slurs at patrons in a Paris caf\u00e9. The exhibit had been slated to open May 3, 2027 \u2014 Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day \u2014 a scheduling choice that drew particular fury from Jewish leaders.<\/p>\n Galliano announced his withdrawal<\/a> on Aug. 31, writing in a statement that he did \u201cnot want the debate surrounding me to place the Met in a difficult position or to distract from the remarkable work of the Costume Institute\u201d.<\/p>\n The shock reversal followed weeks of behind-the-scenes lobbying from public officials and Met donors, and has put Anna Wintour<\/a>, who had personally championed the exhibit, in the hot seat. \u201cPeople are mortified by how this was handled,\u201d one Cond\u00e9 Nast insider told Page Six<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Bezos-backed 2026 gala<\/p>\n Jeff Bezos and Lauren S\u00e1nchez Bezos paid at least $10 million to sponsor the 2026 \u201cCostume Art\u201d gala, per Page Six sources. Getty Images for The Met Museum\/Vogue<\/p>\n Jeff Bezos and Lauren S\u00e1nchez Bezos\u2019 record-setting sponsorship<\/a> of the 2026 \u201cCostume Art\u201d ball crystallized fashion\u2019s growing anxiety about tech money buying its way to the front row. The couple paid at least $10 million<\/a> to sponsor the gala, Page Six exclusively reported, earning honorary co-chair titles alongside Beyonc\u00e9, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour.<\/p>\n The Amazon founder\u2019s involvement drew organized protests around the city, with activists projecting messages including \u201cNo red carpet for Trump\u2019s billionaires\u201d onto buildings visible from the couple\u2019s penthouse<\/a>. One demonstrator even breached red carpet barricades<\/a> during arrivals before being tackled by police.<\/p>\n Regulars including Bella Hadid, Zendaya, Sarah Jessica Parker and Meryl Streep all sat the night out<\/a>, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined to attend<\/a> because, a source told Page Six, \u201cit goes against everything he believes in.\u201d<\/p>\n Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty (2023)<\/p>\n The museum\u2019s tribute to the late Karl Lagerfeld drew widespread debate over the Chanel designer\u2019s history of inflammatory remarks. Getty Images for The Met Museum\/Vogue<\/p>\n The museum\u2019s 2023 tribute to the late Karl Lagerfeld \u2014 the polarizing designer who spent decades at the helm of Chanel, Fendi and his own label \u2014 ran into criticism as soon as it was announced. <\/p>\n Detractors pointed to a long record of inflammatory remarks<\/a> from Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, including a 2009 comment that \u201cno one wants to see curvy women\u201d and his 2018 dismissal of the #MeToo movement in Num\u00e9ro.<\/p>\n \u201cGood Place\u201d actress Jameela Jamil called out the theme<\/a> on Instagram, and the fan-run High Fashion Twitter Met Gala announced it would skip the year in protest. Still, the exhibit went ahead as planned, drawing red-carpet tributes from Kim Kardashian<\/a>, Rihanna<\/a>, Doja Cat<\/a> and dozens more. Pen\u00e9lope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer and Dua Lipa served as co-chairs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kim Kardashian\u2019s Marilyn Monroe moment (2022)<\/p>\n Kim Kardashian arrived at the 2022 \u201cIn America\u201d gala in Marilyn Monroe\u2019s original \u201cHappy Birthday, Mr. President\u201d gown on loan from Ripley\u2019s Believe It Or Not! Penske Media via Getty Images<\/p>\n The Skims mogul turned up to the 2022 \u201cIn America\u201d gala in Marilyn Monroe\u2019s original \u201cHappy Birthday, Mr. President\u201d gown \u2014 a Jean Louis piece valued at over $10 million<\/a> and untouched by anyone but Monroe since 1962.<\/p>\n To fit into it, Kardashian dropped 16 pounds in three weeks<\/a> on a regimen of sauna suits, treadmill sessions and cut carbs, comments that were widely condemned as reckless messaging to her millions of young followers.<\/p>\n Photos later circulated online purporting to show damage to the gown, though both Kardashian and the dress\u2019 owner, Ripley\u2019s Believe It Or Not!, denied the allegations<\/a>. Still, the debate over whether the reality star should have worn it at all<\/a> has lingered long after.<\/p>\n Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s \u201cTax the Rich\u201d dress (2021)<\/p>\n Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore an Aurora James gown with \u201cTax the Rich\u201d printed across the back to her 2021 Met Gala debut. Getty Images for The Met Museum\/Vogue<\/p>\n The New York congresswoman attended her first Met Gala in a white Aurora James gown emblazoned with \u201cTax the Rich\u201d<\/a> in red across the back, sparking immediate accusations of hypocrisy from critics on both the left and right.<\/p>\n Ocasio-Cortez defended the move on Instagram, arguing that \u201cthe medium is the message\u201d and pointing out that NYC officials are regularly invited to the ball, where tickets reach towards the upper five figures, due to their oversight of the city\u2019s cultural institutions.<\/p>\n The dress dominated coverage for days and made James \u2014 the Brother Vellies founder behind the 15 Percent Pledge \u2014 one of the night\u2019s most talked-about names.<\/p>\n Scarlett Johansson in Marchesa (2018)<\/p>\n Scarlett Johansson chose burgundy Marchesa for the 2018 \u201cHeavenly Bodies\u201d gala, months after Harvey Weinstein\u2019s downfall. Getty Images for Huffington Post<\/p>\n Roughly seven months after the New York Times and the New Yorker published their expos\u00e9s on Harvey Weinstein, Johansson walked the \u201cHeavenly Bodies\u201d-themed carpet in a burgundy gown by Marchesa <\/a>\u2014 the label co-founded by Weinstein\u2019s estranged wife<\/a>, Georgina Chapman.<\/p>\n The choice marked the brand\u2019s first major red-carpet appearance since the scandal broke and drew swift accusations of hypocrisy given Johansson\u2019s public support of the Time\u2019s Up movement.<\/p>\n Wintour later defended the moment on \u201cThe Late Show With Stephen Colbert,\u201d saying Chapman shouldn\u2019t be blamed for her husband\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n China: Through the Looking Glass (2015)<\/p>\n The 2015 \u201cChina: Through the Looking Glass\u201d ball drew accusations of Orientalism as guests arrived in kimonos, dragon motifs and chopstick hair sticks. Getty Images<\/p>\n The Costume Institute\u2019s \u201cChina: Through the Looking Glass\u201d exhibit \u2014 with filmmaker Wong Kar Wai as artistic director \u2014 was explicitly framed as a study of how Western fashion has misinterpreted Chinese aesthetics.<\/p>\n