Evan Agostini/AP
Jared Leto’s carpet transformation as Choupette got the internet purring.
What is the Met Gala – that parade that either helps you to forget, or reinforces, our current dystopia –beyond a source of 2023’s weirdest and most wonderful memes?
It was a feline fantasia, as celebrities paid homage to Karl Lagerfeld, the theme of this year’s fundraiser, as well as his cat Choupette – generating a host of questionable fashion choices, straightforward WTF moments, and several “it’s weird… but I’m into it” reactions.
Hollywood being Hollywood, the biggest names in entertainment did the most, announcing personal milestones, giving sizzling interviews or going without pants.
In grand Met Gala tradition, celebrities gave us a dizzying vision of glamour, catsuits, and human statues. These were the funniest, weirdest, and best reactions.
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* Met Gala 2023: Doja Cat dresses as Karl Lagerfeld’s beloved cat, Choupette
It was a catwalk
Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, and Jared Leto turned out as cat people in honour of Lagerfeld’s beloved cat Choupette – each star completely committing to the bit.
In the most surreal vision of feline fantasy since 2019’s Cats film, Doja Cat even gave her red carpet interview to Emma Chamberlain in character.
And – trigger warning – it was Jared Leto under the cat suit all along.
At the Gala, everyone’s a critic
On the First Monday in May, everyone with a WiFi-connection suddenly turns into a fashion critic.
Decked out, much to Lagerfeld’s horror, in sweatpants and jeans, we are all of a sudden able to retire from the concerns of our little lives and focus on what really matters – namely, how did Kim Kardashian look? This phenomenon led to some of the best memes of the evening.
The guest of honour? A NYC cockroach
This being the concrete jungle that dreams are made of – a last-minute cameo from a street cockroach threatened to steal the A-listers’ thunder, as the paparazzi swivelled their spotlight onto the bug’s 11th hour red carpet appearance.
The Kardashian looks split the internet
Cue one million jokes about the Kardashians’ allergy to serving, their “servophobia”, their commitment to never delivering a single serve.
Kendall Jenner wore Marc Jacobs, Kim Kardashian wore a shapewear Schiparelli, and Kyle Jenner sported a Haider Ackermann tango number.
Kim’s look was a literal makeover of her viral “you’re doing amazing, sweetie” moment, an ensemble made of 50,000 freshwater pearls and over 16,000 crystals, which reportedly took over 1,000 hours to make –and which threatened to break the internet all over again.
Pedro Pascal’s slutty knee
It was the knee pop heard around the world.
HBO heartthrob Pedro Pascal turned out in a red Valentino number, with a knee pop that many felt was the vaccine itself.
Pascal knew exactly what he was doing, as the red carpet, and the internet, stood still for a minute to revel in the spectacular sex appeal of his bare knees.
