--- title: Met Gala 2018: SZA Reacts to Pope Rihanna VIDEO description: For Met Gala first-timer SZA, getting to see Queen Rih grace the red carpet in real time was an experience of a different caliber. canonical: https://time.com/5269643/met-gala-2018-sza-rihanna-video/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-05-08T17:16:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:52:44.407Z og:title: SZA's Reaction to Pope Rihanna Was the 2018 Met Gala Highlight og:description: Queen Rih over all og:url: https://time.com/5269643/met-gala-2018-sza-rihanna-video/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e191949321d176a/69892fd5cf40a89882c4c281/sza-met-gala-2018.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: SZA-Met-Gala-2018 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: SZA's Reaction to Pope Rihanna Was the 2018 Met Gala Highlight twitter:description: Queen Rih over all twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e191949321d176a/69892fd5cf40a89882c4c281/sza-met-gala-2018.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # SZA's Immaculate Reaction to Pope Rihanna Was the Highlight of the 2018 Met Gala > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f02961cb-1baa-47e2-aa48-1de81db34c03&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer May 8, 2018 5:16 PM UTC  SZA attends 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & the Catholic Imagination,' the 2018 Costume Institute Benefit at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City. SZA attends 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & the Catholic Imagination,' the 2018 Costume Institute Benefit at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City. Taylor Hill/Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer May 8, 2018 5:16 PM UTC Considering [her Met Gala history](http://time.com/5015330/rihanna-met-gala-2018/), it shouldn’t surprise anyone that [Rihanna’s full-on pope getup](http://time.com/5257694/rihanna-met-gala-dress-pope-2018/) was one of—if not the—best looks of Monday night’s ball. But for Gala first-timer [SZA](http://time.com/5122443/sza-grammys-snub/), getting to see Queen Rih grace the red carpet in real time was clearly an experience of a different caliber. In a video that captured the exact moment SZA realized Rih was in her presence, the _CTRL_ artist can be seen whipping her head around to catch a glimpse of the fashion mogul—who co-chaired this year’s event alongside Anna Winter, Amal Clooney and Donatella Versace. “Ooh Rihanna, where!?” SZA exclaims before immediately walking away from her interviewer to follow Rih inside. SZA herself was no slouch about the night’s _Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination_ theme either. The singer rocked a frothy pink Versace gown complete with a celestial gold headpiece from New York based jewelry designer CHRISHABANA. 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