The Met Gala has always attracted the cream of the crop. While icons from Whitney Houston to Demi Moore have been lauded for their gorgeous gowns others have come under fire for showing up despite their controversial lives off the red carpet.
In 2024, tickets to “fashion’s biggest night” cost $75,000 a piece, with tables costing $350,000, that hasn’t stopped some unsavory characters from attending.
Here are some of the worst Met Gala guests.
Sean “Diddy” Combs
When the jamboree kicks off on Monday night, one regular attendee definitely won’t be attendance. Why? Because he is busy attending his federal sex-trafficking trial. Combs, who has attended the party seven times, was accused of interstate prostitution transportation and drug-fueled orgies.
The Trumps
Ah, yes. The commander-in-chief and his family. The president first attended the gala in the 1980s with then-wife Ivana Trump, who he divorced in 1992.
He first attended it with third-wife Melania Trump in 2003 for the theme “Party of the Year.”
Jared Kushner also accompanied Ivanka Trump for the first time in 2009, and the pair went nearly every year until their last appearance in 2016. The president and first lady’s last Met Gala was in 2012. Vogue‘s editor-in-chief and Met Gala architect, Anna Wintour, has said that Trump is no longer invited.
Elon Musk and Mae Musk
Tesla billionaire and “special government employee” Elon Musk has also taken part in the festivities, and he famously brought his mother Maye in 2022.
He sauntered down the red carpet one week after buying Twitter—now X—for $44 billion.
However, Americans have come to think even less of him since then with just a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in April showing just 33 percent of U.S. adults have a favorable view of the chain-saw-wielding cost cutter.
Kanye West
Ye, who is now very well-known for his repulsive X rants, has in the last few months alone declared himself a Nazi, expressed his love of Adolf Hitler, appeared to an interview in a KKK hood, said countless slurs about the LGBTQ+ community and Jewish people, and made disgusting comments about Jay-Z and Beyoncé‘s seven-year-old twins.
West has attended the Met Gala multiple times and has even suggested that he‘s coming this year—without an invitation. Wintour is bolstering security in anticipation.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
Once-beloved celebrity couple Johnny Depp and Amber Heard attended the Met Gala in 2014. However, by 2022 they were fighting in court as Depp sued his ex-wife for defamation over a Washington Post article she wrote, alleging she was a domestic abuse victim. Heard counter-sued. Depp ended up winning their made-for-TV court battle.
Matt Lauer
The former Today anchor who was ousted from the show in 2017 due to sexual misconduct allegations was a guest at the 2016 Met Gala.
The disgraced newsman was accused of “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace” during the #MeToo era and Wintour banned him from all future events in 2018.
Ricardo Tisci
Just this week fashion designer Ricardo Tisci was hit by allegations of sexual assault.
An April 29 lawsuit filed by Patrick Cooper alleges that Tisci spiked Cooper’s drink before taking him back to his home and assaulting him. Tisci, the former creative director of Givenchy, has designed some of the Gala’s most memorable gowns.
John Galliano
Fashion genius John Galliano, once one of the couture fashion industry’s most influential names, upended his career in 2011 following a string of antisemitic and racist incidents. One infamous video showed him professing his love for Hitler at a restaurant in Paris.
Galliano was convicted of committing two hate crimes in Paris. The celeb, who took over Dior in 1997, designed Princess Diana’s iconic dress when she attended the gala.
Marilyn Manson
A years-long investigation into singer Marilyn Manson’s sexual assault and domestic violence allegations ended with a whimper this January when prosecutors said they would no longer file charges.
The singer has long drawn attention for his Halloween-esque looks and he wore his signature red lip and smoky black eyeshadow to the event in 2007.
Armie Hammer
The once-adored actor and star of Call Me By Your Name quickly retreated from the limelight in 2021 after bizarre text messages emerged linking the star to cannibalism and BDSM. Several women accused him of sexual misconduct and one accused him of rape.
Hammer, who has only recently started poking his head out from behind the curtains, has attended the Met Gala and brought now ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers to the ball.
Harvey Weinstein
One of the country’s most famous film producers watched his career crash and burn in 2017 when a slew of women came forward to accuse him of sexual abuse dating back to the 1970s.
Weinstein long had a close relationship with Vogue and knew Wintour well. She frequently put stars of his films on her covers, and he was a regular at the Met Gala, where he usually sat in a front-row seat. When news broke of Weinstein, Wintour called it “appalling and unacceptable.”
Alexander Wang
Fashion designer Alexander Wang was accused of being a “massive sexual predator” in 2020. Eleven people stepped forward, claiming he groped and drugged them. Wang met with his accusers and in 2021 released a statement apologizing for causing them “pain.”
Wang has designed countless ensembles for Met Gala guests, including a matching set for Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott in 2018.
