Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce reportedly were invited to the Met Gala this year, but won’t attend, meaning that the celebrity world’s biggest night of fashion is losing some serious star power — as well as the potential to provide a setting for an A-list showdown between Swift and Kim Kardashian, her longtime nemesis who happens to be a regular at the event.
TMZ reported Friday that Swift and Kelce have passed on walking the Met Gala red carpet together on May 6, with the Grammy winner and the NFL star each returning their RSVPs with “no.” TMZ said that Swift might be skipping what would have been her seventh appearance at the star-studded party in New York City because she restarts her Eras Tour in Paris several days later.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 02: Kim Kardashian (L) and Kanye West attend the “Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology” Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for People.com)
Still, the timing of the news about the reported Met Gala rejection is interesting, coming out on the same day that everyone on the planet is talking about the release of her blockbuster new album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” Moreover, many Swift fans are focused on the song, “thanK you aIMee,” which appears to be a scathing takedown of Kardashian. In fact, the capital letters in the title of the song spell out the name “Kim.”
It may be just coincidence that Swift’s Met Gala news is coming on the same day as “TTPD’s” release. Then again, it’s fair to wonder whether the “Anti-Hero” singer and her boyfriend prefer not to attend the gala, in part because she expected Kardashian would be there. While the guest list for the gala is kept secret until the night of, the influencer and reality TV star has attended each of the past 10 Met Galas since 2013, mostly with her ex-husband Kanye West.
Incidentally, 2016 is the last year that Swift attended the Met Gala. That’s also the same year that, according to Swift, Kardashian engaged in vicious, snake-themed acts of cyberbullying that nearly ended her career. It’s understandable that Swift wouldn’t want to be at the same event as Kardashian and have to deal with her, or risk speculation on whether the two women had to be seated far apart at dinner or whether they had a tense encounter in the ladies room.
Swift’s new song, “thanK you aIMee,” certainly takes no prisoners, and it alludes to Kardashian’s actions in 2016 as it portrays her as a “bronze, spray-tanned” high school mean girl, who threw “punches,” “stomped” on Swift’s grave and spread gossip that left her with “searing pain.” But the “Shake It Off” singer also asserts in the song that the ordeal strengthened her resolve to “write a thousand songs that you find uncool” and to build “a legacy which you can’t undo.”
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 02: Taylor Swift attends the “Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology” Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Huffington Post)
Friday’s release of “thanK you aIMee” put a big bulls-eye on Kardashian’s social media, with Swifties massively trolling the reality TV star, Page Six and other outlets reported. On Kardashian’s most recent Instagram post, featuring a photo of her on a beach vacation with sisters Kourtney and Khloe, the comments section was flooded with “Thank you Aimee” and “Hey Aimee” messages.
The Daily Mail reported that Swift had “humiliated” Kardashian with her “diss track.” The song certainly reminded the world of the feud, which erupted when Kardashian was still married to the controversial West and seemed happy to channel some of his grievances. Kardashian labeled Swift “a snake” online and accused the singer of lying when she said she didn’t allow the rapper to write vulgar lyrics about her in his song “Famous.”
Kardashian’s accusations whipped up an online fury against Swift, full of snake memes and emojis. The ensuing scandal felt like “a career death,” Swift said in an interview with Time in December, when she was named the magazine’s Person of the Year. “Make no mistake — my career was taken away from me.”
Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, left, celebrates with pop superstar Taylor Swift after the Chiefs defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Again, it has not been confirmed whether Kardashian will be on this year’s guest list for the Met Gala, which is organized by Vogue magazine and which takes place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vogue reported. But it’s hard to imagine that the famously attention-seeking Kardashian wouldn’t get an interview or miss another chance to be included in the same company some of the biggest names in fashion and entertainment, such as Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Rihanna. This year’s hosts are Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, and Chris Hemsworth.
And, yes, Swift might be skipping the gala because she has to be in Paris several nights later to put on a concert. Then again, she’s got a private jet and has never let vast distances get in her way when she wants to be some place, including when she flew into Las Vegas from Tokyo in February to see Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl.
Of course, it must be disappointing for Anna Wintour, the Vogue editor in chief who oversees the gala, to not have Swift and Kelce walk the gala’s red carpet. Right now, Swift is arguably the world’s most influential figure in culture and entertainment — vastly eclipsing Kardashian on that score. Swift and Kelce together also have become a once-in-a-generation power couple. But Wintour has been partial to giving Kardashian a showcase at the gala over the past 10 years. Unfortunately for Wintour, if Kardashian’s attendance is one reason that Swift turned down an invitation, then this year’s gala will be that much less interesting.