Instagram/@_metgala2021
- The 2021 Met Gala was rescheduled for September 13 and influencers are rumored to be invited.
- Page Six reported that Emma Chamberlain and Addison Rae Easterling would be there.
- But a fabricated influencer guest list has gone viral, sparking outrage over unverified information.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Fake 2021 Met Gala seating charts and guest lists full of influencers have gone viral, prompting outrage that TikTok stars and controversial creators could score invitations to the prestigious fashion event attended by A-list celebrities.
Several graphics have gone viral on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok that have a watermark for an Instagram account with the handle "_metgala2021." The account didn't respond to a direct message sent by Insider asking for comment, but its bio says, "Not affiliated with the Met Museum," and there's no evidence suggesting that information shared by the account is accurate.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York hosts the annual event, which was canceled in 2020 during the pandemic and is slated for September 13.
Despite the account clearly identifying its posts as speculative, it has triggered viral outrage and accrued more than 11,500 followers. But the posts have traveled to much bigger audiences on TikTok, where one video featuring the list has over 100,000 views, and Twitter, where "James Charles" trended on Monday due to his inclusion in the mock seating chart.
Other influencers mentioned on the fabricated seating plan include Addison Rae, Emma Chamberlain, Bretman Rock, Charli D'Amelio, and Dixie D'Amelio.
Viral Met Gala misinformation started spreading after a Page Six report about influencers
On August 14, Page Six reported that agents and publicists for A-list celebrities were disappointed that influencers had been invited to this year's Met Gala. The outlet wrote that TikTok star Addison Rae Easterling and YouTuber Emma Chamberlain were both rumored to be invited.
On August 17, the Met Gala fan account posted its first speculative guest list, which includes all the celebrities named in the Page Six article - including those the outlet said were rumored to be skipping this year.
According to the account's history on Instagram, it was created in May 2019 and was originally a Kardashian fan page with handles like "kimklook" and "kardashianclubs."
The Instagram account went from receiving hundreds of likes per post to thousands overnight after posting the first guest list. As of publication, the account appears to be selling other Instagram accounts on the Met Gala account's story - advertising accounts with between 56,000 and 96,000 followers for between $400 and $800 dollars.
Screenshot Instagram/@_metgala2021
On August 19, the page posted the second list of influencers, none of whom were referenced by Page Six.
This list included Charli D'Amelio, who is 17 and won't turn 18 until May 2022. Children under the age of 18 haven't been allowed at the Met Gala since 2017, Stylecaster reported.
There are also capitalization and spelling errors with several influencers' names, including the D'Amelio sisters and Loren Gray. The name of the event is also spelled incorrectly.
The names of stars like Ryan Reynolds, Idris Elba, Sarah Jessica-Parker, and Jennifer Lopez, also had spelling errors.
In the early hours of August 23, the account posted a purported seating plan for the event. Although the post reiterates that "nothing is confirmed here," disgraced YouTuber James Charles was included at the same table as stars like The Weeknd, Lana Del Rey, and Taylor Swift. Charles' name started trending on Twitter.
While some users expressed outrage that Charles, as a YouTuber, would be granted access to such an event, others complained that given his recent controversies, he does not deserve to go to the event. Charles admitted to "flirting" with two minors whom he said lied about their age and has been accused of sexting with more.
Representatives for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Charles, Easterling, Chamberlain, and the other influencers who were speculated to attend this year's Met Gala didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.
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