By the time a vast majority of Indians woke up to notice their socials on Tuesday morning, Diljit Dosanjh and Shah Rukh Khan had spammed their social media feeds. Nation’s heartthrobs had just had their red carpet moment at the MET Gala 2025 and no, social media did not keep calm. It oscillated between being amused and disappointed or beyond impressed. Simple as that.
This year’s MET Gala, like each year, was hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and was co-chaired by veterans and newbies alike. The list comprised Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, Pharrell Williams, apart from the MET Gala fixture Anna Wintour while the theme Superfine: Tailoring Black Style leaned towards inclusivity.
Global celebs, universal humour
Speaking of inclusivity in fashion, Rihanna debuted her baby bump at the gala. The pop star wore a hybrid suit dress in crocodile leather, including a pinstripe skirt, which accentuated the curved belly bump. “Rihanna pregnant again. That album is never coming,” read a comment on the Instagram post talking about her look by Chrome Hearts.
Zendaya’s oversized hat had her meme glory even before she could have hers on the red carpet. “Zendaya’s big hat has arrived at the MET Gala,” read a viral meme generated by AI depicting her life-sized hat covering all of the red carpet stairs. While some were in good taste, others plain sassy, Rihanna found herself baby shamed multiple times. “Rihanna when we said R9, we meant the album, not the number of kids,” said a netizen.
Dallas based entrepreneur Mona Patel made an appearance with a robotic dog and the internet speculated if her outfit was sponsored by Sam Altman.
Did memes spare Diljit Dosanjh?
While Dosanjh walked away with all the red carpet glory, it is designer Prabal Gurung who merits a moment of applause. Diljit’s outfit, put together by Gurung, had every symbolic detail of India’s erstwhile royalty in place. Turban, a cape featuring the map of Punjab embroidered on it, emerald-layered necklace inspired by Maharaja’s Cartier collection, all formed a part of the outfit. The celebrated singer-actor seized the opportunity to place the map of Punjab, script of Punjabi language on the global stage.
“I bring my turban, my culture and my mother tongue to the Met Gala,” he captioned the post while sharing glimpses from behind the scenes, garnering close to 2 million likes on Instagram. “I love Diljit Dosanjh but why is he dressed like a Dulha Dosanjh,” laughed an internet user.
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Another one that seems to have been largely left alone by content creators was Kiara Advani, who wore a Gaurav Gupta gown with metallic breastplate, a heart shaped metal joined by a string representing the umbilical cord.
Shah Rukh Khan’s oops moment!
Initially, the outrage overshadowed the memes with SRK’s Indian fans offended over an interviewer on the red carpet not recognising the King Khan. “Asking Shah Rukh Khan to introduce himself is like asking Jeff Bezos for a resume,” joked an internet user as the video went viral.
Bollywood’s mega star debuted at the Met Gala as he credited designer Sabyasachi and his kids collectively for nudging him to make an appearance on the fashion night. His look featured a wool coat, a pleated satin waistband, bejewelled accessories comprising tourmalines and a pendant with a large K.
Did that make King Khan’s look immune to social media sarcasm? Absolutely not. Although many lines are often crossed while chasing humour, do memes form an inevitable part of the MET Gala? Absolutely yes. As yet another X post reads, “Each year I look forward to the MET Gala and a new Iphone for the same reason– the memes that follow.”
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