Met Gala guests must follow these strict rules – or risk being blacklisted

As the first Monday in May rolls round again, A-listers, fashion houses and other very rich people you might not have heard of are getting their final looks together for the Met Gala.

This year, the theme is Costume Art, with Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams co-chairs alongside Anna Wintour. Jeff and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are honorary chairs and sponsors, while Saint Laurent is sponsoring too.

Other names set to attend include trans model Alex Consani (who recently got announced for American Horror Story’s new season), Sam Smith, Teyana Taylor and Sabrina Carpenter, among many others.

It’s rumoured that the likes of Bad Bunny, Chappell Roan, Hunter Schafer, and Heated Rivalry favourites Connor Storrie, François Arnaud and Hudson Williams are also on the guest list.

But for those set to walk the famous steps, there are a strict set of rules they must follow.

No social media

A well-documented rule, but guests are expected to keep their phones away and focus on the exclusive party instead.

That means selfies are frowned upon too – though everyone will remember the infamous toilet photos from over the years, including the 2021 shot of Troye Sivan at a urinal, taken by Tom Daley.

No smoking or vaping

Again, this should be a given, considering smoking has been banned in most enclosed workplaces since March 2003. Anyone caught could be issued a $100 fine – which is small change to most of those in attendance, but still.

However it seems the celeb guests need a reminder, as “no smoking or vaping” signs have been seen in the bathroom selfies in recent years.

Guests like Bella Hadid and Dakota Johnson have been snapped secretly sparking up in the loos in the past.

Anna Wintour has final say

Anna Wintour reportedly has the final say on what guests wear – and they are all encouraged to follow the theme. Of course, some people make more effort with the theme than others, but if Wintour isn’t a fan, then it’s not coming in.

That’s if they even get in, to start with. Guests are personally selected and approved, and it’s reported the entry fee this year is $100,000.

Most of the time, the celebrity guests don’t pay for this themselves and are instead invited by a fashion house, who cover the cost, dress them and have them on their tables.

Don’t touch the artwork

Another obvious sounding one, but guests must not touch the artwork on display at the venue.

Stick to the seating plan

Guests go through months of planning and stress and then can’t even sit next to their friends when they get inside.

Met Gala organiser Eaddy Kiernan told Vogue in 2023: “We really try to think very carefully about who’s sitting next to each other. Our ideal pairing would maybe be two people who we think will just get on like a house on fire but who may not even realise that they have a lot in common.”

Meanwhile, Vogue director of special projects Sylvana Ward Durrett said in the 2016 documentary, The First Monday in May: “A lot of thought goes into who sits next to who, if they sat together last year, if they’ve sat next to each other at other events, so much goes into it, it’s shocking.”

Food bans

A number of foods are said to be banned from being served, though, to be fair, it makes a lot of sense.

It’s reported that parsley is banned, because nobody wants it getting stuck in their teeth after all that effort of getting glam.

And then to avoid any bad breath issues, onion and garlic are off the menu.

So-called “messy” food isn’t served either, for obvious reasons. So no picky bits for those A-listers.

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