The 2021 Met Gala has been a hot topic all over social media for the last few days. In a normal year the high class fashion event is held in the first week of May. However, due to COVID, it was moved to Sept. 13. 

This year, the Gala was highlighted more than usual for its controversial guest list and theme. The theme this year was “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” in celebration of Costume Institute’s newest exhibition. The co-host list includes: Billie Eilish, Timothee Chalamet, Naomi Osaka and Amanda Gorman. 

A contributing factor to being on the Met Gala guest list is how involved a specific celebrity is with fashion. For example, Emma Chamberlain is a renowned YouTuber known for working with Louis Vuitton. She also has had a major influence on younger generations fashion choices as well. This shows how as our society continues to progress, the status quo for celebrities will continue to change. 

While there were many familiar returning faces, there were also some new ones added as well. These various new faces lead to an outbreak of controversial comments online. A few of these new appearances were TikTokers Addison Rae and Dixie D’Amelio. Who are known to have little to no experience in the fashion industry at all. Which led to many questions from various age groups online as to why the two were invited to the event. 

Although the two TikTok influencers have branched out into different areas, such as music and acting, a large part of the online community believes that the two of them had these experiences thrown at them rather than putting in the hard work to earn them. Since both TikTokers quickly came to “fame” on the app, word about them spread quickly. This fame allowed Rae to have an acting role handed to her in her recent film “He’s All That” with no prior experience, and D’Amelio was given a record deal without any second thoughts at all. 

However, when influencers such as Rae and D’Amelio enter the spotlight without any effort, it’s unfair to new and upcoming celebrities. With the lack of knowledge that they have in the realm of media, TikTok stars have become infamous for being involved in petty scandals online. Rae has been previously accused of supporting previous president Donald Trump, who was notoriously controversial, and D’Amelio has been called out for making multiple inappropriate racial remarks on social media.

This allows for many controversies to rise whenever fans catch wind of such problematic influencers attending such a distinguished event. 

Even after the rocky comeback the Met Gala had this year, fans are still ecstatic to see what the famed fashion event will return with in 2022. 

Contact Anna Baustert at [email protected]