Why Didn’t Taylor Swift, Blake Lively, Rihanna, and More Attend Met Gala 2024?

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Did you notice a few of your faves were missing from the Met Gala 2024 red carpet? Namely, superstars like Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Blake Lively, Billie Eilish, and well, many more.

This year's gala was skipped by quite a few A-listers and Met favorites, and their reasons for not attending the ball are super diverse: there's a golfing injury, the flu, working late 'cause they are singers, and, of course, travel and tour schedules.

Read More: All the Met Gala 2024 First-Timers: Stray Kids, Tyla, Ayo Edebiri, and More

With these celebs in such high demand, it makes sense that there are some years they have to miss one of the most exclusive parties in the world. I mean, hell, even 2024 co-chair Zendaya took five years off from the event. But we can't help but express our sadness that they weren't present to turn a show-stopping look.

To find out why so many stars chose not to sow their seeds in The Garden of Time, check out a list of the usual, ol' reliable Met suspects who did not attend this year's gala below:

Taylor Swift (and Travis Kelce)

Taylor Swift has not attended the Met Gala since 2016, when the theme was Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology. Fans speculated whether Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce, who together have become a kind of celebrity supercell in their own right, would attend this year's ball together. In March, TMZ reported that Kelce declined his invite (it would be his first time in attendance) and noted that the couple wouldn't “make their big debut at the Met Gala because they're passing on soaking up the spotlight at fashion's biggest night.” Fans still held out hope that Swift would pull another Super Bowl-esque jet trip, but, per People, it seems as though she was too busy preparing for the European leg of the Eras Tour, which begins on May 9 in Paris.

Blake Lively

Blake Lively famously co-chaired the Met Gala in 2022, when the theme was In America: An Anthology of Fashion. Anticipation for Lively's take on the 2024 theme was high after the actress stunned at a party celebrating Pharrell Williams's new collection at Tiffany & Co.'s flagship store in New York the week prior. But according to Elle, this year, Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds skipped the ball to stay at home with their kids. The couple also opted out of last year's festivities; Lively joked that she would be watching from home, wearing her Statue of Liberty-inspired gown on her couch.

Rihanna (and A$AP Rocky)

Rihanna is known to close out the Met Gala every year by being the last guest to arrive and walk the carpet, wearing the most extravagant and on-theme look of the night. The crown jewel of the best dressed list was forced to skip the gala this year, however, after contracting the flu. The singer and beauty mogul was spotted parading through Miami with pink hair this past weekend while attending the F1 Grand Prix, where her partner A$AP Rocky launched his Puma collection with a pop-up shop. Just last week while talking to Extra, Rih teased that her 2024 Met Gala look was going to be “real simple" and confirmed that she was going to arrive on time to attend the dinner. Get well soon, RiRi.

Beyoncé

Like T-Swift, Beyoncé has stayed away from the Met Gala since 2016. Many believed 2024 could be the year of the Met Gala return for Bey, as the star has been notably active on social media and making more press appearances than usual after the launch of her haircare line Cécred and the release of her eighth studio album Cowboy Carter. But it looks like the Sleeping Beauties theme wasn't enough to reawaken Beyoncé's presence at the annual event. Maybe 2025?

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish has made her mark on the Met Gala, and her attendance at the 2024 ball would have been her fourth time walking the carpet. But Eilish was notably absent this year — instead of getting dressed up with her brother Finneas, the singer posted on her Instagram Stories that she spent Met Monday autographing vinyl copies of her upcoming album Hit Me Hard and Soft, which arrives on May 17. Last Monday, Eilish announced the dates for her next world tour of the album.

Tom Holland

Fans tried their hardest to manifest Mr. Zendaya joining his co-chair girlfriend at the 2024 Met Gala… sadly to no avail. The Romeo + Juliet and Spider-Man star did not attend due to an unfortunate golf injury with the bruise to prove it, but still made sure to show his support for Zendaya on Instagram after the red carpet closed. (Read more about Tom Holland's absence from this year's Met Gala here.)

Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton

Bridgerton stars Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton were also absent from this year's red carpet. Coughlan's last time attending the Met Gala was in 2022; it's unclear whether Newton was invited, but this would have been his debut year. However, the April Teen Vogue cover star and her season 3 costar are headed to Italy on May 8 to promote Bridgerton ahead of its May 16 release date.

BLACKPINK's Rosé

Rosé had BLINKs excited after the star spent the days leading up to the 2024 Met Gala in New York City with Jennie, but turns out she was only in town for brand events. Rosé took to Instagram Stories the day before the Met to share that she was leaving NYC. In 2021, Rosé made history as the first female K-pop idol to attend the Met Gala.

Olivia Rodrigo

Since her debut in 2021, Olivia Rodrigo has shaken up the Met Gala for three consecutive years. But good things clearly only come in threes, as the “Obsessed” singer was not in attendance at the Met on May 6. She had a very good reason, though: the singer is scheduled to play two back-to-back dates on her Guts World Tour in Glasgow, Scotland on May 7 and 8. We missed you, Livvie!

Katy Perry

Many were fooled on Monday evening by the viral AI-generated images of Katy Perry (and Dua Lipa, and Rihanna…) on the 2024 Met Gala carpet — including the singer's own mom — but the American Idol judge took the time to publicly confirm that she would not be in attendance. “Couldn’t make it to the MET, had to work,” Perry captioned a post to Instagram that included multiple fake photos, a screenshot of her mom's stunned text message, and a fan waiting outside of the museum. The last video in the carousel, however, revealed what Perry was up to instead: she was in the recording booth cooking up new music.

Anya Taylor-Joy

The last time Dune 2 star Anya Taylor-Joy attended the Met Gala was in 2018 when the theme was Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination. The actress skipped this year's ball due to other commitments — she's currently on her worldwide press tour for her upcoming film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. And somehow, she still managed to be perfectly on theme with this year's Met Gala dress code. (See more here.)

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue

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