Photos of Rihanna and Katy Perry, each in their best attire at the Met Gala, circulated on social media on Monday. But the glamorous online photos of the singers came with a crucial accessory: a disclaimer.
“This is either AI or digitally altered. “Rihanna, at the time of this publication, has not yet arrived at the Met Gala,” reads an X (formerly Twitter). community note It accompanies a photo of what appears to be the “Love on the Brain” singer wearing an intricate and abstract floral dress.
Rihanna's photo was one of several AI-generated images that fooled fashion enthusiasts and fans at X during the 2024 Met Gala on Monday. The high-profile charity and fashion event returned to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to celebrate the launch of the “Sleeping Beauties: Fashion Awakening” exhibition.
As celebrity guests, from co-chair Zendaya to longtime attendee Kim Kardashian, dressed in their “Garden of Time”-themed attire on the green-tinged carpet, photos of their looks quickly dominated X. Caught in the influx of red carpet photos were fabricated images of Rihanna and Perry.
Within moments, AI Rihanna's look earned praise for X: “He ate without crumbs.” “Yes, her designers will go CRAZY when it's time for the Gala.”
The user who uploaded the photo was quickly criticized for using AI, but defended the image from critics, doubling down on claims that it was “real.”
AI footage of Perry supposedly at the gala sparked similar conversations.
“Katy Perry. That's it. #MetGala,” an X user Subtitled her AI photo of Perry, wearing a floor-length dress with floral appliqués. In the photo, the faux Perry poses on the Met Gala's iconic steps, which feature a different color scheme than the real event. That photo, which is now promoting a community note in Spanish, had garnered more than 314,000 likes as of Tuesday morning.
In the comments, fans. praised the fake look. “It's okay, she won.” wrote a user saying a second fan. In the comments, other users expressed their skepticism.
“All the cameramen with weird hands”, an X user commented.
“235,000 likes in one hour for a fake image… we're done,” another X user joked.
TO second The AI photo of Perry, shared by the user who made Rihanna's image, also circulated online, but saw the singer in a completely different outfit inspired by “Garden of Time.” Instead of the floor-length dress, this glam shot showed Perry rocking the wet-hair look and a dress with a tarnished metal-looking bodice and a floral skirt.
On Monday night, Perry shared that her mother was also fooled by the AI images. “I couldn't go to the MET, I had to work,” she captioned her post.
In a screenshot of a text message exchange, her mother writes: “I didn't know you were going to the Met…what a gorgeous dress, you look like the Rose Parade, you're your own float lol.”
Perry texts back: “Haha mom, the AI got you too, WATCH OUT!”
Rihanna, on the other hand, has not publicly addressed the AI images or her absence from the celebrity gathering. The ten-time Met Gala attendee apparently had the flu, ABC News reported Tuesday.
Co-hosted by Chris Hemsworth, Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez and Bad Bunny, the 2024 Met Gala promoted singer Tyla's couture red carpet appearances (which went viral after security carried her up the Met stairs), Colman Domingo, Sam Smith and Greta. Lee, among others.
