Addison Rae & Emma Chamberlain among influencers facing Met Gala invite backlash

Virginia Glaze

The 2021 Met Gala will take place this September with a focus on American fashion — and despite fans being desperate for a massive fashion fiesta, they’re not happy about the event’s rumored guest list.

The Met Gala is one of the biggest celebrity events of the year. The annual fundraiser brings together A-List stars from all across the arts to dress up in their best finery, always designed around a central theme.

From 2018’s ‘Heavenly Bodies’ to 2019’s ‘Camp,’ the Met Gala has given us some iconic looks that aren’t falling out of the public consciousness anytime soon… but some fashion fans are concerned that the Gala is losing its reputation as a high-class affair.

In 2019, several social media stars attended the Met Gala, Liza Koshy and James Charles among them. These influencers were met with harsh backlash from critics, who felt that the YouTubers weren’t famous enough to earn a spot at the prestigious event.

Addison Rae he's all that
Addison Rae might be a TikTok superstar, but it’d be amiss to say she doesn’t have a passion for fashion.
The influencer is starring in Netflix film ‘He’s All That,’ coming out later this month.

It seems this pattern is repeating itself in 2021, after the Met Gala was canceled in 2020 due to global health concerns. This year, the Gala’s theme is American fashion — and it’s purportedly including some online talent in its troupe.

While the Gala does not comment on their guest list prior to the event, as The Costume Institute’s Chief External Relations Officer recently told PageSix, it seems that several leaks have surfaced claiming that TikTok star Addison Rae and YouTuber Emma Chamberlain are among the invitees.

A celebrity agent also told PageSix that a slew of other influencers are purportedly attending, which seems to track with the fact that Instagram and Facebook are sponsoring the Gala.

Emma Chamberlain sitting on steps
Emma Chamberlain may be facing backlash for her rumored involvement in the Met Gala, but she’s one of the few influencers out there who has made a name for herself in part due to her styling sense.

Both Rae and Chamberlain have yet to comment on their potential inclusion in the event, but that isn’t stopping commenters from brutally berating them for being invited to the Gala.

“I’m just gonna say it, no one wants to see Addison Rae at the met gala,” one commenter tweeted.

“Doja Cat is not invited to the met gala but addison rae is??” another wrote. “WHATT!”

https://twitter.com/tiniebeeb/status/1428083440503635976

“Isn’t the met gala meant for art?” another user questioned. “Like a lot of these I get, but Addison Rae? Emma Chamberlain? Are they going to do some dance and wear vaguely thematically related Brandy Melville?”

https://twitter.com/tiniebeeb/status/1428083440503635976

It’s clear that viewers aren’t looking forward to seeing more and more influencers taking up spots at an event historically relegated to major celebrities — but as more and more social media moguls break into the mainstream, this could become a trend we see more often in the future, whether we like it or not.