The Days of Internet Stars Attending the Met Gala Might Be Coming to an End

YouTuber Emma Chamberlain is back at the Met Gala, and she appears to be the only major internet personality attending the event this year. It marks a departure from galas of the past few years, all of which have included at least a handful of influencers.

The Met Gala is the most exclusive fashion party of the year, held annually at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The event has historically hosted only the most famous and elite. As internet influencers have grown in their follower counts and cultural cachet in the last several years, it was only inevitable that some would make the guest list.

Last year, several influencers were at the Met Gala, including popular TikTokers Addison Rae, Dixie D’Amelio, and Avani Gregg. In September 2021, the first gala held since the COVID-19 pandemic began, influencers in attendance included makeup vlogger NikkieTutorials, beauty guru Jackie Aina and Try Guys member Eugene Lee Yang.

The first influencer to attend the Met Gala was blogger Chiara Ferragni, in 2015. YouTuber Liza Koshy attended in 2018, and conducted red carpet interviews for Vogue’s YouTube channel.

YouTube makeup guru James Charles graced the carpet in 2019, writing in an Instagram caption of his look, “Being invited to such an important event like the ball is such an honor and a step forward in the right direction for influencer representation in the media and I am so excited to be a catalyst.” YouTuber and, later, late-night show host Lilly Singh was also in attendance that year.

This year, Chamberlain was on her own in representing the world of internet stars. The YouTuber attended the gala as Vogue’s YouTube channel official red carpet host for the third consecutive year, wearing a Miu Miu cropped blazer and matching baby blue floor-length skirt and headband. She quickly switched her look at the top of the carpet into a similar look in black, with a Miu Miu cropped undershirt for her hosting duties.

The inclusion of influencers at the Met Gala has been criticized over the years, as some have called out internet stars as not being on par with what they consider more traditional celebrities. A 2019 tweet with over 140,000 likes reads: “Met Gala is actually losing its exclusivity… I don’t know how they can have these boring YouTubers and D list celebrities walking around like it’s The Kids Choice Awards.”

Influencers aren’t the only non-traditional guests who have caught flack for their invites. Kim Kardashian, who in many ways is thought of as the OG influencer, and the Kardashian-Jenner family have notoriously received controversial invites. Even this year, rumors flew that Anna Wintour had not invited the famous family.

Kim attended for the first time in 2013 in a Givenchy skin-tight flower gown that embraced her baby bump. Last year’s gala, themed In America: An Anthology of Fashion, marked the first time all Kardashian-Jenner sisters attended the event.