Real Housewivesstar Rebecca Minkoff has a theory that she ’s never been invited to the Met Gala because she once accidentally get on an elevator with Anna Wintour — which is apparently against the editor ’s " rules . "
TheMet Galais one of the most exclusive — andexpensive! — invitations on the celebrity social calendar. While plenty of celebs are chomping at the bit for a $75,000 ticket, some will allegedly never get the chance to walk up those famous steps.
Here are seven famous people who were reportedly banned or fired from the Met Gala:
1.On a 2017 episode ofThe Late Late Show with James Corden, the host askedAnna Wintour, “Who would you never invite back to the Met Gala?” She answered, “Donald Trump.” As the audience cheered, James replied, “That is a great answer.”
2.In 2021, Tim Gunn toldE!‘sFashion Policethat reports that he got disinvited from the Met Gala were “very true.” He said, “It is a crazy story, and, as far as I’m concerned, it’s just a very matter-of-fact story. I was asked, ‘What is the most unforgettable thing I’ve ever seen in fashion?’ And I said, ‘It’s easy. It was watching Anna Wintour being carried down five flights of stairs by two bodyguards — two big, hulking men — from a fashion show.’ Well, all hell broke loose. It was insane. So we’ve had an open war ever since.”
“I am not generally an angry person but I swear to god, the toxicity of this industry sometimes really gets to me. And I have to do my little Instagram-story rants to release my rage,” she said.
The next day, shetweeted, “I do not say the things that I say because I want to be relevant or get attention. I speak up because I don’t see enough people with large platforms calling out toxic behavior in our industry. Some people will never understand where I’m coming from and that’s okay.”
Several months later, Lili toldW Magazine, “[Attending the Met Gala] was fun. But after going again this year, I don’t think I’ll be invited back. I said a certain something about a certain person in a certain dress. I have always wanted to stand for something. And while I don’t like it if one comment by me turns into 17 articles in People magazine, I never overthink what I post. It has to be a true representation of how I feel. And I would say that whether I had 100 followers or 100 million.”
4.In 2024, designer andThe Real Housewives of New York Citycast member Rebecca Minkoff told the podcastTwo Ts in a Pod, “I knew Jenna [Lyons] from just being in fashion and making a huge mistake and taking an elevator with her and Anna Wintour, and that was the end of my relationship with Anna, ‘cause you’re not allowed in the elevator with Anna…So, there’s a rule, I’ve been told, that if she gets in the elevator, you can’t get in with her…[She and Jenna] were cohosting an event together when Jenna was at J.Crew, and this was, like, 15 years ago. And I was just excited to be invited to anything, and I just was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna get in the elevator. How’s it going?'”
Rebecca tried to talk to Anna. She continued, “I was like, ‘Hello! How’s everyone feeling today? Is everyone…’ You know I was all [chipper]…She just looked down and got silent. It was awkward. And I was like, ‘Right, right, I must’ve missed the memo somewhere.’…I’m still thinking of it 15 years later. I’m like, ‘Maybe that’s why, you know, I’ve never been invited to the Met Gala. I don’t know. Maybe it’s ‘cause I got into the elevator with her.”
However, if the rumors were true, the alleged ban didn’t last very long. Rachel attended the Met Gala in 2010 and 2012.
6.Not everyone who’s been booted from the Met Gala was an attendee. During the 2023 Met Gala, modelEugenio Casnighi— who was working as a greeter — went viral for his striking looks. In a 2024TikTok, he alleged, “I just got fired from the Met Gala.” Over a montage of his viral moments, he added, “Remember me?”
He continued, “So, I’ve never talked about this because I was under [an] NDA. It’s funny enough they fired me, so I can say whatever I want now. What happened, I’ve been working for the Met Gala as a model and greeter [in] 2022 and 2023, and I was supposed to do it this year. Today — just to give an idea — today’s Friday, and the Met Gala is on Monday. And they let me know today that they cut me off. They fired me because I went viral last year. So they said, so basically, they said, ‘You made it about yourself, so we can’t have you work there anymore. So I’m sorry, you got, like laid off, fired, whatever you wanna call it.’ Like, last year they told me that I was going to be withKylie Jennerthe [whole] night, and I helped her, you know, like, whatever she needed.”
“It’s funny, because the Met Gala and the company that I’m not gonna mention — they fired me. They want models to work on the red carpet. They want, like, people to get noticed. Like, they literally told me, ‘We picked you because we like you more than other people to be with this celebrity.’ But when people took pictures of the actual celebrity — not me, of the actual celebrity, like Kylie Jenner – and [I] was next to her, of course I ended up in the picture. And they blamed me! They said, ‘You made it about yourself, so we don’t wanna work with you anymore.’ I’ve been confirmed to work this year a month ago. I have emails. I have messages.
7.And finally, the late André Leon Talley, who was thefirstBlack man to hold the position of creative director at Vogue, was Vogue’s official Met Gala red carpet interview for a long time. However, according toThe Hollywood Reporter, in 2018, he was abruptly replaced by YouTube star Liza Koshy — a decision he alleged was due to his age. The situation reportedly led to a falling out between André and Anna Wintour.
