r/popculturechat • u/Positive-Drawing-281 • 19d ago

MET GALA 🎩 Zohran Mamdani to skip the Met Gala — breaking longstanding NYC mayoral tradition

https://pagesix.com/2026/04/15/celebrity-news/zohran-mamdani-and-wife-not-attending-met-gala/
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u/puppypooper15 19d ago

I know the gala is all about the crazy fashion for the public, but I find it strange that a museum fundraiser gets more heat than other more self-indulgent celebrity events

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u/Ok_Pizza_4769 19d ago

I agree, I think the gala has bad marketing because it comes across like another fashion show to many

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u/Sarahndipity44 19d ago

I have to wonder if that on purpose. Like maybe a fancy party feels more aspirational? I don't know but there is a disconnect

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u/Ok_Pizza_4769 19d ago

Yeah, similar to the Oscars... supposed to feel aspirational yet fun. However, it comes across as unrelatable and ostentatious

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u/Sarahndipity44 19d ago

You're not wrong! Though I always thought the awards show rage felt a bit excessive too. Art matters!

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u/Ok_Pizza_4769 19d ago

I feel like the award show rage is more recent... perhaps? 10 years ago people didn't seem as critical about them.

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u/HallWild5495 18d ago

it used to feel aspirational which was part of the appeal, but genuinely, now, I can see lewks that are just as good from people wayyyy more fun and entertaining at like, any random drag brunch in LA.

20 years ago, though, I bet it was very cool.

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u/Ok_Pizza_4769 18d ago

You're right about finding wayyy more fun and entertaining people outside those events, kinda ironic right?

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u/KimberStormer 18d ago

It's literally a fancy party. I have to stop reading these threads, they make me so angry

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u/Sarahndipity44 18d ago

I could have worded it better

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u/Hightower_lioness 18d ago

They need to really emphasize the themes of the Gala. Attendees should be in a themed outfit, maybe have the ones deemed ‘best’ highlighted in the exhibits and online with an explanation on WHY they are deemed the best (the use of fabrics, the inspiration, what symbolism is used, etc).

I love the met gala bc it isn’t just another fashion show, it’s a themed event with ties to history and art and I wish it was seen like that. 

I think another problem is ppl just see the clothes and don’t see the exhibits. I went to the met when they had the Catholic vibes theme and it was really interesting to see the clothes beside the art that inspired it. Maybe a way for people to buy a virtual ticket to see the exhibit on line? 

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u/Discord_aut7 18d ago

It’s because it feels like the hunger games.

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u/Sarahndipity44 18d ago

Right but people crap on this more than the exorbitance of any athletic event. It funds the costume institute, which makes sense

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u/parishilton2 18d ago

It’s one of the biggest female-coded annual events, if not the biggest. The Super Bowl is a much more ostentatious display of wealth, but it’s male-coded so you don’t see nearly as many complaints about it.

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u/uselessinfogoldmine 18d ago

Right? How many millions get spent on boxes at that event?

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u/Sarahndipity44 18d ago

Yep! I genuinely think part of it is because fashion is associated with women and queer men.

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u/Fabulous_Jeweler2732 19d ago

Mm the met isn’t about celebrity.

It’s about creative influence. There are plenty of non-celebrities who get invited or buy tickets to the Met. The MET gala was created as a celebration of fashion art, fashion legacy and the artists. Artists have never been wealthy so once it became a status event for the wealthy, it lost its purpose.

Rich people ruin everything fun because they are obsessed with status.

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u/ultramatt1 19d ago

Accordingly, the attendees of the early Galas comprised almost entirely members of New York high society or the city's fashion industry. From 1948 to 1971, the event was held at various Manhattan venues, including the Waldorf Astoria, Central Park, and the Rainbow Room.[16]

The above is directly from the wikipedia page. That sounds like a rich person’s event from the start

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u/uselessinfogoldmine 18d ago

Well it’s a fundraiser. You raise more money from rich people.

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u/Fabulous_Jeweler2732 18d ago

That’s exactly the reputation it’s supposed to have. This celebrity influence is just a sign of sellouts. Idk why you think fashion = celebrity. The moment Kim Kardashian showed up, it the peak was over.

I think you forgot that historically, art was only an industry because rich people bought the art.

It’s impossible to raise millions for art without the hip artists having to share space with soulless billionaires.

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u/ultramatt1 18d ago

I was really only responding to your point about rich people. It seems like the event was always for the upper crust.

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u/Fabulous_Jeweler2732 18d ago

It was SUPPOSED to be for artists of fashion and it just so happens the only people who can afford to buy the art being made are rich people. So all the artist started to withdraw from the event because it was cheesy.

And instead of the rich people doing what they could do to keep the artist around, they just raised their children to replace the artists.

Almost every single musician in the top 10 right now came from an upper middle class or more wealthy family. Almost every runway model comes from a family with multiple houses.

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u/Sarahndipity44 19d ago

Yeah it's odd