Rihanna Was Forced to Pull Out of the Met Gala Because She Had the Flu

Rihanna typically makes a fashionably late entrance to the Met Gala, but not this year: Per People, the singer and partner A$AP Rocky had to pull out of the event after Rihanna came down with the flu.

RiRi had hinted at her Met Gala fashion plans in an interview with Extra, mentioning that her outfit would be "very simple-ish" when "compared to everything I have done."

The pop star last attended the Met Gala last year, when the event honored late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. That night, Rihanna managed to pull off four striking looks.

While leaving the Carlyle Hotel on her way to the event, she cloaked herself in an opulent fur coat from Fendi's Fall 1997 collection, designed by Lagerfeld himself. Upon arriving at the Met, Rihanna transitioned into a breathtaking white Maison Valentino gown that featured a floor-sweeping train and a gargantuan cape plastered in camellia blossoms. The floral appliqués paid homage to Chanel's signature flower (which Lagerfeld used in many of his designs while he served as the French fashion house's creative director).

To accessorize her symbolic outfit, Rihanna chose white gloves and whimsical sunglasses adorned with faux eyelashes.

And in true Rihanna fashion, she didn’t end the spectacle there. While ascending the Met Gala stairs, she unfastened her cape and revealed the top half of her Valentino gown. Pregnant with her second child at the time, her dress fit snugly around her baby bump.

For her final look that night, Rihanna slipped into a festive set for the Met Gala after-party, wearing a cropped white blazer and a coordinating skirt. Masterful looks like these are why Met Gala watchers eagerly anticipate her arrival each year—but there's always 2025!