Rihanna Skips the Met Gala — But Still Picks Her Best Dressed of the Night!
Amid all the glamorous gowns and campy outfits on the Met Gala’s pink carpet Monday night, one face was noticeably missing.
Rihanna, who is one of the annual event’s mainstays and is known for wearing the most opulent, over-the-top creations, skipped out on the festivities — but she still made sure her fans knew what she was up to.
The 31-year-old singer popped up on Instagram and named Vogue editor-in-chief and Met Gala co-chair, Anna Wintour, best dressed of the evening.
“Best dressed,” Rihanna wrote on Instagram, captioning a photo of Wintour stepping out on the carpet in a pink crystal-embellished, column Chanel gown with a matching pink and purple feathered cape.
Fans of the singer lamented her absence in the comments section. “Girl stop playin and step out,” one user wrote, while another said, “Even tho you are not there you are the best dressed for us.” One fan left a simple message: “WHERE R U.”
On her Instagram Story, Rihanna gave a hint as to what she might have been up to while celebrities gathered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. On Monday night, the beauty mogul posted a screenshot of a tweet that read, “Rihanna at home playing with that f— makeup,” referring to the singer’s makeup brand Fenty Beauty.
Rihanna posted the tweet next to a photo of Fenty products with a caption that read “met ball 2019” next to a shrugging emoji, implying that she was indeed skipping the event to focus on her makeup brand.
A post shared by badgalriri (@badgalriri) on May 6, 2019 at 4:57pm PDT
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Last year, the star turned heads when she wore an ornate papal mitre (a ceremonial head-dress of bishops) with an opulently bejeweled, strapless mini dress and matching collared robe by Maison Margiela Artisinal. Her look perfectly embodied the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” theme. Rihanna was also co-chair for last year’s event.
In 2017, Rihanna made a bold statement on the carpet wearing a straight-off-the-runway ensemble by the gala’s honoree, Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo, pairing the look with strappy, red sandals that she said took “an hour to get into.”
RELATED: A Comprehensive Guide to All of Rihanna’s Jaw-Dropping Met Gala Looks
And who could forget 2015’s meme-worthy look? For the “China: Through the Looking Glass” event, Rihanna shut down the red carpet (literally) with her custom yellow ball gown by Guo Pei, which featured such a long train that it nearly covered the entire staircase entrance of the museum.
Also not in attendance at this year’s event were Met Gala regulars Sarah Jessica Parker, Beyoncé and Blake Lively.
On Monday, hours before the start of the event, Parker shared a photo of herself enjoying a slice of pizza at a local New York City spot. “Shouldn’t you be home getting ready for the Met Gala?” a fan wrote in the comments section.
RELATED: The Best Dressed from the 2019 Met Gala Red Carpet: The Craziest, Campiest and Most Couture Looks
“Traveling out of the country this eve. So I can’t make it this year. X,” the actress responded.
Most years, Parker was accompanied by her date and close friend Andy Cohen. She’s known for always pushing the fashion envelope, and her famous headpieces have launched thousands of memes over the years.
