Rihanna wasn’t in attendance for the Met Gala in New York yesterday evening (May 2), but that didn’t stop her from stealing the show.
The global superstar and fashion icon is usually one of the biggest names walking the red carpet for the event, but this year the “Needed Me” singer — who is expecting her first child with boyfriend A$AP Rocky — skipped the Met as her due date is fast approaching.
Because of the mark she’s made in the world of fashion, she still reigned supreme. The theme of the night was “Gilded Glamour and White Tie” and Vogue gave Rihanna the highest honor.
“The statue of ‘Eirene (The Personification of Peace)’ is usually the highest-profile marble goddess @themetmuseum Greco-Roman galleries. But now we’ve got @badgalriri, straight off this month’s Vogue cover,” the magazine said in a social media post.
The post was accompanied with a stunning video displaying the “Love on the Brain” singer as a beautiful marble statue. Her look was inspired by a recent Vogue cover shoot in which her baby bump was on full display.
Rihanna responded to the surprise by reposting the video and saying, “Shut down the Met in marble! What’s more gilded than that? Lol! Thank you @metmuseum and @voguemagazine for this historic tribute! y’all bad for this one!”
Other celebs in attendance for the prestigious event were Lizzo, Cardi B, Ciara, Lena Waithe, Venus Williams and more.
The “Met” is short for The Metropolitan Museum of Art and each year the museum hosts the wildly popular event to raise funds to benefit the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City.
This year’s newest exhibit, “In America: An Anthology in Fashion,” opens Saturday (May 7).
Rihanna — who recently celebrated her first National Heroes Day — had fans excited about her Met honor. Here’s a few reactions as well as her marble statue.