2023 Met Gala Already Under Fire For Choice Of Theme

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has come under fire for its theme for the Met Gala set to hold in May 2023.

Although the museum is setting a solemn undertone for its upcoming gala, observers are not satisfied with the plans to celebrate the life and legacy of the late fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld. In fact, several people, including celebrities, used their social media pages to voice out against the move, citing Lagerfeld's "unacceptable" behavior towards women as their reason.

According to Cosmopolitan, even though Lagerfeld died in 2019 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, the fashion icon made his mark on the fashion industry thanks to his extensive works with brands including Chanel, Fendi, Chloe, Balmain, and his eponymous brand.

To that end, the Metropolitan Museum's exhibition — "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty" — will see roughly 150 pieces featured alongside the late German star's original sketches. At the same time, those who grace the event are expected to create looks around the theme. 

Unfortunately for Lagerfeld, his fashion legacy became tainted when he said in 2009 that "no one wants to see round women." The creative director worsened matters by making several other upsetting comments, including referring to actress Heidi Klum as "too heavy."

He also called singer calling Adele "a little too fat" and claimed that Coco Chanel was not a "feminist" because she "was never ugly enough for that." The slew of sexual assault accusations that trailed Lagerfeld's life did not make the photographer's life any easier.

Thus, it was no surprise when "The Good Place" actress Jameela Jamil promptly uploaded a lengthy Instagram caption alongside a monochrome photo of Lagerfeld with the word "Nope" written.

Once she noted how "supremely talented" the late German was, the body positivity champion wrote that he "used his platform in such a distinctly hateful way, mostly toward women, so repeatedly and up until the last years of his life, showing no remorse, offering no atonement, no apology, no help to groups he attacked."

The 36-year-old was also curious about "why the world should celebrate Lagerfeld" when "there are so many AMAZING designers out who aren't bigoted white men?" She concluded that:

"We didn't fight all this sh*t just to throw it all away because some white guy made some pretty clothes for people's skinny faves." 

Jamil's sentiments were echoed by a Twitter user who wrote, "As much as he contributed to the fashion industry, we should not be celebrating a person who made fatphobic, racist, and sexist comments throughout his career." 

Another person stated that while she looked forward to the yearly Met Gala, she did not appreciate them honoring a "racist, sexist, misogynistic, deeply fatphobic, islamophobic, and antisemitic" man.

A fourth observer pointed out that Coco Chanel was trending because the Museum "just announced the 2023 Met Gala theme, and it's "Karl Lagerfeld," who was the Chanel designer for years and also had racist/neo-Nazi views. It's gross."

The last tweet got a response that expressed how "revolting" it was to "see the Lagerfeld praise when he died," primarily because of his racist, sexist, and misogynistic comments and behavior.

Last month, The Blast reported that Lagerfeld was not only a regular face at the gala but also good friends with Anna Wintour, the gala's overseer. His friendship with Wintour was so great that he threw his weight behind the turnout in 2015 with its Chanel-inspired theme.

Regarding honoring Lagerfeld's achievements, Andrew Bolton — the Costume Institute's Wendy Yu Curator in Charge — was shocked at the 2023 theme because "Karl never tired of telling me that fashion did not belong in a museum." The British museum curator even recalled that:

"When we worked on the Chanel show together, he was incredibly generous in what he lent, but he was completely disinterested in the exhibition itself! He would say, 'Fashion is not art — fashion belongs on the street, on women's bodies, on men's bodies.'"

However, Bolton shared that the panel had added a special touch to suit the artist's preference, in which 150 of the looks chosen will be displayed beside their original sketches by Lagerfeld himself, as we mentioned above.