Why Selena Gomez Skipped the 2024 Met Gala

This is what we know about her absence from the biggest night in fashion

preview for The Best Met Gala Looks Ever

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Selena Gomez grace the carpeted steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art—and, now, it’ll be even longer until we finally do.

The Only Murders in the Building star opted out of attending the 2024 Met Gala, with her absence duly noted during tonight’s star-studded affair. While she hasn’t yet publicly explained why she missed out on the festivities, Gomez is known to eschew the event altogether—her last Met Gala appearance was in 2018.

 

At the time, the actor followed the year’s “Heavenly Bodies” dress code in a diaphanous, opera-length gown designed by Coach creative director Stuart Vevers. The magnificent dress featured a bedazzled bustier and tiers of ruffles, composed out of a nearly translucent champagne-colored fabric.

new york, ny may 07 selena gomez is seen arriving to the heavenly bodies fashion the catholic imagination costume institute gala at the metropolitan museum on may 7, 2018 in new york city photo by gilbert carrasquillogc images
GILBERT CARRASQUILLO//GETTY IMAGES

Despite her absence tonight, Gomez has actually been spending plenty of time in New York City, where the Met Gala takes place. Just last week, she hosted Rare Beauty’s third annual mental health summit. For the occasion, she wore crinkled ivory cocktail dress by Australian luxury womenswear brand Maticevski, featuring an off-the-shoulder neckline and an asymmetrical hemline.

Prior to that appearance, Gomez was also spotted filming season four of Only Murders in the Building, with the shooting location on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

“I think when you’re part of a series that means a lot to people, there’s this pressure of wanting to make sure you’re delivering the best and, if anything, you want to beat what you’ve done,” Gomez said of the Hulu series in a 2023 interview with TheWrap. “Which to me seems impossible, but the team of people that we have—from the writers, directors, and obviously Steve and Marty—are constantly surprising me with storylines and the mystery of it all.”