According to multiple media reports, Timothée Chalamet skipped the Met Gala on Monday to attend a New York Knicks playoff game at Madison Square Garden. Entertainment outlets reported that the actor’s choice continues a pattern from last year, when he stayed home to watch the Knicks face the Boston Celtics in Game 1 while Kylie Jenner attended the gala solo. In a podcast, Chalamet said he was too “locked in” with the Knicks to attend the Met Gala.
According to sports reporters, Chalamet has become a regular courtside presence at Knicks games. He previously described the team’s run last year as “the most fun period of my life,” he said in a podcast. “Those four months, I’m not even kidding. Just the Garden being electric.” After that game, videos posted on social media showed Chalamet celebrating on the street with fans. Photographs from Monday’s event captured Spike Lee also attending the game, a shift from last year when fans reported that the director chose the Met Gala over the Knicks and faced backlash. A fan on social media said, “It’s official, he’s the king of New York.”
Kylie Jenner, who according to fashion publications has attended the Met Gala nearly every year since 2016, has supported Chalamet at multiple premieres and awards ceremonies, as documented by entertainment news outlets. It is unclear whether Jenner attended the Met Gala this year or how she reacted to Chalamet’s absence. According to event archives, Chalamet has only attended the Met Gala once, as co-chair in 2021.