- Each year, tons of celebrities show up at the Met Gala, an event known for outrageous fashions.
- Over the past few years, there have been some wild celebrity moments at the event.
- Solange seemingly attacked Jay-Z in an elevator in 2014 and Beyoncé was late because she was redoing her ponytail in 2015.
- Sarah Jessica Parker wore a hat in 2015 that resulted in the creation of a lot of memes.
- Visit INSIDER’s homepage for more stories.
Each year the hottest stars flock to the Met Gala, also known as the Met Ball, to raise money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
Lovingly dubbed “the Oscars of the East Coast” the event draws everyone who is anyone providing for a glamorous night filled with fashion, booze, and plenty of memorable celebrity moments.
Here are some of the biggest celebrity moments that have happened right before, during, or just after the Met Gala.
In 1999, Liv Tyler and Stella McCartney showed up to the Met Gala wearing tank tops.
If you’re wondering how the stars always look so good it’s because they’re each partnered with a designer that dresses them for the occasion which is why it’s so surprising that these ladies were able to get away with tank tops.
It may have been the '90s, but these DIY 'Rock Royalty' tank tops that Liv Tyler and Stella McCartney (yes, their fathers are Steven Tyler and Paul McCartney) rolled up to the Met in are a huge deviation from the couture that usually accompanies the big night.
Kanye and Rihanna performed together in 2009.
Every party needs entertainment and what could be more entertaining than a Kanye West and Rihanna concert? The two mega-stars headlined at the 2009 Met Gala years before they rocked the Grammys stage together.
Gwyneth Paltrow decided she was too cool to attend in 2013.
After the 2013 Met Gala, in an interview with USA Today, Gwyneth Paltrow famously swore off of the famous fete. "I'm never going again. It was so un-fun. It was boiling. It was too crowded. I did not enjoy it at all," she told the publication.
The Met Ball regular who had attended since 1995 changed her tune in 2017, posting a throwback photo on Instagram of her in Calvin Klein at her first Met Gala with the hashtag "full circle moment coming up."
She then graced the Gala red carpet in Calvin Klein once again, presumably persuaded by an upcoming collaboration between Anna Wintour (editor-in-chief of Vogue and chair of the event) and her lifestyle brand Goop.
Kim Kardashian finally got invited, then became a meme in 2013.
Scoring a coveted invite to the Met Gala isn't an easy feat when Vogue editor-in-chief and chair of the event, Anna Wintour, is in charge.
According to some sources, despite her popularity, Wintour refused to invite Kim Kardashian for years because she didn't consider reality-TV stars on the same plane as the A-listers that usually get an invite.
When Kanye West headlined the Gala in 2013, Kim finally got to go. At the time, Kim was pregnant with baby North West and donned a body-hugging, turtleneck dress in a floral print by Givenchy that was definitely a bold choice.
The internet quickly turned Kim's look into a meme comparing her to a couch and Mrs. Doubtfire. Kardashian has since become a Met-Gala regular and continues to turn heads with her looks.
Anne Hathaway went blonde in 2013.
In one of the most extreme hair transformations in Met Gala history, the always-brunette Anne Hathaway showed up to the 2013 Ball with a shocking platinum-blonde pixie hairdo.
During an afterparty for the Met Gala, Solange reportedly attacked Jay-Z in an elevator in 2014.
Back in 2014, footage emerged of Beyoncé's younger sister, Solange, appearing to get into a physical altercation with Jay-Z in an elevator at a Met Gala after party. Footage from the elevator shows Solange seemingly attacking Jay Z while Beyoncé stands idly by.
No one knew exactly what provoked the incident but fans speculated that it may have been provoked by Jay's reported flirtiness with designer Rachel Roy.
Though we may never know what actually went down, it seems that the family has moved on from that infamous elevator showdown.
Hayden Panettiere took a fall down the Met steps in 2014.
Walking around in a giant ball gown is tough, which is why it's no surprise that at some point in the Met Gala's history, someone had to take a tumble down its hallowed steps.
Hayden Panettiere's Dennis Basso dress proved a little too long and caused her to stumble down the carpeted-stairs. Luckily, Panettiere quickly picked herself up again and went on as if nothing happened.
Sarah Jessica Parker wore a hat in 2015 that resulted in the creation of a lot of memes.
Another Met Gala moment that went viral was when Sarah Jessica Parker donned this hat as a nod to the gala's theme "China: through the looking glass."
Although SJP is known for her daring looks this hat was quite a look and inspired so many memes, that it has its own Wikipedia-style explanation page on KnowYourMeme.com.
The Clooneys made their Met Gala debut as a married couple in 2015.
Making an appearance at the Met Gala is a big deal, so when George and Amal Clooney made their first appearance as a married couple at the gala, it was a big deal.
In 2015, Beyoncé was late to the event because she was redoing her ponytail.
The Met Gala is not the kind of event where you show up fashionably late - unless you are Beyoncé of course. In 2015, the singer arrived a full hour after the last celebrity had been photographed on the red carpet because she wanted to change her hair.
According to her hairstylist, Neal Farinah, Bey had originally stepped out in an "Asian-inspired chignon" (the theme was "China: Through the Looking Glass") but felt it was too costumey and decided to change it into a high ponytail as she was headed out the door. And so a high ponytail was created, punctuality be damned.
Rihanna stole the show with her yellow dress in 2015.
Not only did Rihanna look stunning in the yellow Guo Pei dress she wore to the 2015 Met Gala, she also scored major points for wearing a gown by a Chinese designer.
The theme for that year's Gala was "China: through the looking glass" and although many celebs wore ensembles that were nods to Chinese culture, few actually wore anything designed by Chinese designers - enter Rihanna.
Rihanna researched "Chinese Couture" on the web and came across this dress which took Guo Pei, the single person who worked on it, two years to make. It was such a hit that Vanity Fair dubbed it the "Red-Carpet winning Met Gala dress."
Lady Gaga gave Donatella Versace a birthday cake in 2016.
The Met Gala is filled with plenty of eye-catching and out-there accessories but the cake Lady Gaga gifted to Donatella Versace is probably the most unique.
Gaga had a special three-tiered, gold-dipped Versace cake made for her friend and designer to celebrate her 61st birthday which coincided with the Gala.
Madonna showed up wearing a whole lot of lace in 2016.
Leave it to Madonna to show up to the Met in nothing but lace. The star attended the event wearing a dress by Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy that left little to the imagination.
Madonna later took to Instagram to defend her outfit choice, saying, "We have fought and continue to fight for civil rights and gay rights around the world. When it comes to Women's rights we are still in the dark ages. My dress at the Met Ball was a political statement as well as a fashion statement."
Beyoncé hit the red carpet solo after releasing "Lemonade" in 2016.
Just a week after releasing "Lemonade," the album that had everyone frantically searching for clues on the state of Jay Z and Bey's marriage, Beyoncé stoked the fire by showing up to the Met Ball sans Jay.
Fans read into the arrival as yet another sign that the duo's relationship was on the fritz and even joked that Bey's skin-toned number might be what happened to "Becky with the good hair." But as of 2019, the couple is still together.
Sarah Paulson could not believe her eyes when she saw Madonna in 2017.
Sarah Paulson might be a huge celebrity in her own right but even she can't help but stare in awe at the glory that is Madonna as she posed on the red carpet during the 2017 Met Gala.
Madonna took Paulson's admiration in stride and posted this shot on her own Instagram account with the caption, "Hahaha, love you Sarah!"
