8 of the biggest Met Gala controversies

E! News reported in 2017 that Anna Wintour wanted to keep reality stars, including the Kardashians, away from the gala, but Kim Kardashian later attended with Kanye West when he performed in 2013. That's all water under the bridge now, and Kardashian — and her family members — have become staples at the Met. 

In 2014, TMZ released security footage from an elevator that showed Solange angrily speaking to Jay-Z before proceeding to hit and kick him. What appeared to be a security guard stepped in to restrain her, and even Beyoncé stepped in front of her husband at one point. 

The family initially kept quiet on the situation but released a statement 10 days later.

"As a result of the public release of the elevator security footage from Monday, May 5th, there has been a great deal of speculation about what triggered the unfortunate incident," the statement said. "But the most important thing is that our family has worked through it. Jay and Solange each assume their share of responsibility for what has occurred. They both acknowledge their role in this private matter that has played out in the public. They both have apologized to each other and we have moved forward as a united family."

While theories about what sparked the fight ranged from infidelity to Jay-Z saying something "inappropriate" to the sisters, the family never directly addressed the cause, but they did apparently reference the incident in their music.

In "Kill Jay-Z" from his 2017 album "4:44," Jay-Z raps, "You egged Solange on / Knowin' all along /All you had to say you was wrong."

In a verse for the remix of her song "Flawless," Beyoncé also seemed to reference the incident: "Of course sometimes s--- go down when there's a billion dollars in an elevator." 

In 2017, Jay-Z spoke about the incident with Solange in an interview with RapRadar, ABC News reported.

"We've had one disagreement. Before and after, we've been cool," he said. "That's my sister. Not my sister-in-law, no, my sister. Period."

People railed against the gala for the cultural appropriation present in some of the designs of the night. Among the most criticized outfits was Sarah Jessica Parker's Philip Treacy headdress, which was criticized for being a "dragon lady" stereotype that sexualizes and villainizes Chinese women.

Karolína Kurková also wore a controversial red satin look that Fashionista's Fawnia Soo Hoo called a "sexed-up version of a qipao."

As stars walked down the red carpet, a man wearing a hot-pink thong mankini attempted to run across the carpet before being intercepted by security. 

Demi Lovato said in 2018 that they left the 2016 Met Gala because another celebrity in attendance made their experience so bad that they had to leave the gala to attend an AA meeting.

Lovato told Billboard, "It was very cliquey. I remember being so uncomfortable that I wanted to drink."

During an interview with Amy Schumer for Lena Dunham's newsletter, Lenny Letter, Dunham made some comments about her Met Gala seatmate New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Dunham said he ignored her throughout the evening and said it was because she didn't fit his standard of women. 

"It was so amazing because it was like he looked at me and he determined I was not the shape of a woman by his standards," she said. "It was like we were forced to be together, and he literally was scrolling Instagram rather than have to look at a woman in a bow tie. I was like, 'This should be called the Metropolitan Museum of Getting Rejected by Athletes.'"

She later apologized for her comments in an Instagram post.

"Despite my moments of bravado, I struggle at industry events (and in life) with the sense that I don't rep a certain standard of beauty and so when I show up to the Met Ball surrounded by models and swan-like actresses it's hard not to feel like a sack of flaming garbage," she wrote. "But I went ahead and projected these insecurities and made totally narcissistic assumptions about what he was thinking, then presented those assumptions as facts. I feel terrible about it."

A few days later, Beckham seemed confused when asked about the comments, The New York Times reported.

"It's life," he said. "There are so many things that go on, you catch some of them, you don't catch some of them, you just — I don't know man, I don't have much to say about that. I have to learn more about the situation."

A group of celebrities congregated in the bathroom at the 2017 Met Gala where many proceeded to light up and smoke. After footage and photos were shared on social media, the New York City Department of Health responded with anger and disappointment at the blatant violation of the city's Smoke-Free Air Act.

"We were dismayed to read reports that some celebrities chose smoking as their fashion accessory and flagrantly violated New York City's smoking laws," the Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett wrote in a letter to the Met's senior vice president.

The museum then responded with their own statement saying that the violation happened "by a small number of guests," and that the museum will "take steps to ensure this does not happen again."

Critics, including Donald Trump Jr., said the message on the dress contradicted how much Ocasio-Cortez would have spent on a ticket to attend the ball, which reportedly costs $30,000 a head.

Ocasio-Cortez, an outspoken progressive, clarified her position and attendance in an Instagram post.

"The medium is the message," she wrote.

"And yes, before anybody starts wilding out — NYC elected officials are regularly invited to and attend the Met due to our responsibilities in overseeing our city's cultural institutions that serve the public. I was one of several in attendance," Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

She also wrote that her dress was borrowed from Brooklyn-based brand Brother Vellies and praised the gown's designer, Aurora James, for helping her "work together to kick open the doors at the Met."