NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 13: ASAP Rocky and Rihanna attend The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by John Shearer/WireImage)
Cover Photo: Getty Images

Believe it or not, fashion’s biggest night out had its share of no-shows. Here are the celebrities who didn’t make it to the Met Gala—and why

You’d think that the Met Gala is the one event that’s impossible to miss—let alone get an invitation to—but for several celebrities, that wasn’t the case this year.

Sure, the red carpet had its share of noteworthy moments, courtesy of all the wildly varying interpretations of the Gilded Glamour theme, as well as the whole Kardashian-Jenner clan who showed up together for the first time. Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson making their Met Gala debut as a couple at the same time as Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker feels like a moment that was engineered to break the Internet, or at least distract us from who wasn’t there.

But the absentees were glaringly obvious, especially because they have previously delivered some of the best looks that the Met Gala red carpet has seen. That includes Harry Styles, Ariana Grande, Zendaya, Dua Lipa and the queen of the Met Gala herself, Rihanna.

What’s with the no-shows? Find out more below.

In case you missed it: Met Gala 2022: The Couples That Conquered the Red Carpet

Dua Lipa

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 06: Dua Lipa arrives for the 2019 Met Gala celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Karwai Tang/Getty Images)
Above Dua Lipa at the 2019 Met Gala (Photo: Getty Images)

Popstar Dua Lipa has been long due to go on her Future Nostalgia tour, which has been delayed several times because of the pandemic. While her collaborator Lizzo stunned at the Met Gala, Dua Lipa was across the Atlantic performing her chart-topping songs for the crowd at The O2 in London. She called the concert her very own Met Gala, and aptly performed in a lavish Mugler catsuit featuring over 120,000 crystals.

Ariana Grande

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attends the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City.
Above Photo: Getty Images

It’s a shame that Ariana Grande didn’t attend the Met Gala; she was one of the few celebrities who actually nailed the event’s theme in 2018, Heavenly Bodies. But, like Dua Lipa, the singer is focusing on her day job and currently preparing for her role as Glinda for the upcoming movie Wicked, which starts filming next month.

Rihanna

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 13: Rihanna and ASAP Rocky attend the 2021 Met Gala benefit "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/WireImage)
Above Photo: Getty Images

Rihanna was relieved of her duties of carrying the Met Gala this year on the account of her pregnancy. She revealed that she was in her third trimester in March, so it’s likely that she missed fashion’s biggest night out to put her family first. Speaking of, her partner Asap Rocky didn’t show up either. Last year, the couple upstaged everyone at the Met Gala in their elaborate outfits—baby-bump-concealing Balenciaga couture for her, and a vintage quilt for him.

Zendaya

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attends the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City.
Above Zendaya at the 2018 Met Gala (Photo: Getty Images)

Zendaya, who is very much in the running for being one of the consistently best-dressed celebrities at the Met Gala, skipped this year’s event. But this came as no surprise to her fans, as the Euphoria actress already shared her plans in an interview last April: “I’m going to disappoint my fans here, but I will be working. Your girl’s gotta work and make some movies.” The movies in question? The Dune sequel and Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers.

Harry Styles

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Harry Styles attends The 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage)
Above Photo: Getty Images

Harry Styles missed the perfect opportunity to make his red carpet debut as a couple with Olivia Wilde. We can assume the As It Was singer is busy prepping for his one-night-only performance in New York on May 20, and Wilde might be gearing up to promote her new film Don’t Worry Darling, for which she directed the lead actors, Styles and Florence Pugh. Perhaps the boy with a pearl earring will make his comeback next May.

Read more: Harry Styles Fashion: 8 Gender-bending Looks That We Love

Lady Gaga

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 06: Lady Gaga attends The 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
Above Photo: Getty Images

In true camp fashion, Lady Gaga made four outfit changes at the 2019 Met Gala, which pretty much covered her for the next three years. The star’s presence was sorely missed, except in Las Vegas, where she has been performing her residency.

Adele

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LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 08: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Adele attends The BRIT Awards 2022 at The O2 Arena on February 08, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Redferns)
Above Adele at the 2022 Brit Awards, one of the few public appearances she’s made this year (Photo: Getty Images)

Speaking of a Las Vegas residency, Adele is likely preparing for her own at Planet Hollywood’s Zappos Theatre, according to TMZ. We’re not betting on seeing her at future Met Gala events, though; the Easy On Me singer shared on the Graham Norton Show that she plans to stay out of the spotlight following her residency.

Anya Taylor-Joy

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attends the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City.
Above Anya Taylor-Joy at the 2018 Met Gala (Photo: Getty Images)

Fans of Anya Taylor-Joy will have to wait another year for The Queen’s Gambit star to return to the Met Gala. Currently, the Peaky Blinders actress is busy promoting her new role in Robert Egger’s The Northman, which she stars in alongside Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard. She’s also working on a slew of upcoming films, including Furiosa, Laughter in the Dark and Super Mario Bros: The Movie, for which she has a voice acting role.

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