Why didn't Taylor Swift and more A-list celebs attend Met Gala 2025?
The 2025 Met Gala was a glittering spectacle, and so many of your favorite stars did not disappoint, delivering looks on top of looks heeding this year's theme, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.
The steps of New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art were decked out for a night of dandyism on Monday, May 5, and stars like Doechii, Jodie Turner Smith, Jenna Ortega, Zendaya, Gala co-chairs Teyana Taylor, Lewis Hamilton, and Colman Domingo, and Rihanna — who debuted another pregnancy on the blue carpet! — received almost universal acclaim for their take on the theme and the dress code, “tailored for you.”
However, there were quite a few famous faces missing that we would have loved to see in attendance at this year's Met Gala. (I mean, who else was looking forward to seeing Beyoncé's take on the theme? Wouldn't you think Billie Eilish would have loved to partake in a menswear-focused Met?!)
Below, find out why stars like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Michael B. Jordan, and more stars skipped Met Gala 2025.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
Taylor Swift has yet to make her grand return to the Met Gala. Next year will make a full decade since the Tortured Poets Department singer last attended the event. You'll surely remember her last appearance, as that iconic bleached-blonde bob for the 2016 Manus x Machina theme broke the Internet.
Unfortunately, Swift didn't attend Met Gala 2025, and neither did her boyfriend Travis Kelce, which would have been his Met Gala debut. According to TMZ, the couple was invited to the event but “could not make it work as a result of their schedules.”
North West
Though North West was in New York City with her mom Kim Kardashian for Met Gala weekend, the budding fashion icon was not in attendance at this year's Met due to the fashion fundraiser's age restrictions for attendees. However, she did make sure to get some Met Gala content in with her mom ahead of the event, dressed in one of the hottest fashion trends of the moment and wearing electric blue jumbo braids.
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Beyoncé and Blue Ivy Carter
Beyoncé would have nailed this year's Met Gala theme with her eyes closed — yet, she and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter (who, like North, cannot yet attend as she's under the age limit) missed the 2025 Met Gala because they are currently both performing on tour. Bey's Cowboy Carter Tour kicked off last week in Los Angeles, and she's not finished her five-show run at the SoFi Stadium just yet.
The tour had shows scheduled for the night before the Met, May 4, as well as two days after the Met, on May 7. It would've been an unnecessarily hectic travel schedule for Bey and Blue to fly from L.A. to NYC for just a few hours and bounce back from the jet lag to be stage-ready on May 7. We get it!
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish is a Met Gala darling, which means her absence was definitely felt at this year's event. Sadly, just like Beyoncé, the star had to work. On Monday, May 5, while so many other celebs were posing on the Met steps, Eilish was performing on her Hit Me Hard and Soft world tour in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the second show of a three-night run at the Ziggo Dome.
Michael B. Jordan
After the critical acclaim of his new movie Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, many were wondering why actor Michael B. Jordan was missing from this year's Met Gala. The ‘30s era costumes he wore in the vampire horror film could definitely be classified as dandy attire, and fans were drooling in anticipation of MBJ showing up in a Zoot suit similar to those worn by his twin characters Smoke and Stack.
However, the star was not in attendance; and though he hasn’t yet shared the exact reason why, he did repost a video on his Instagram Stories of Ryan and Zinzi Coogler speculating which of the Sinners twins was more of a dandy.
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber's wife Hailey did attend Met Gala 2025 — but she did it solo, as the “Yummy” singer hilariously stayed home to watch his favorite hockey team. The star posted an Instagram carousel of his Monday night plans while Hailey was out dripping in YSL with her girlfriends, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, in New York City.
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Timothée Chalamet
Kylie Jenner wasn't the only star who left her man at home. Timothée Chalamet did not attend this year's Met Gala because he also stayed home to watch sports, specifically his favorite basketball team, the New York Knicks. (They won, BTW.)
Tom Holland
Sadly, Tom Holland has yet to make his Met Gala debut with his girlfriend Zendaya. The Spider-Man actor famously avoids the spotlight as much as possible, preferring a more private approach to fame. Zendaya walked the Met Gala 2025 blue carpet alone this year, without Holland or her longtime collaborator Law Roach by her side; the Euphoria star's look paid tribute to '70s era Bianca Jagger.
Katy Perry
Last year, Katy Perry couldn't make it to the Met Gala because she was in the studio – this year, she had to work once more. The singer, who is currently on tour, addressed her absence on Instagram, reposting an AI-generated image of her on the carpet and writing in the caption: “Couldn’t make it to the MET, I’m on The Lifetimes Tour (see you in Houston tomorrow IRL‼️) P.s. this year I was actually with my mom so she’s safe from the bots but I’m praying for the rest of y’all.”
