Pictures of Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez and Zendaya, purportedly taken during the 2023 Met Gala, were shared thousands of times on social media as celebrities graced the red carpet for the New York museum's famed benefit. But the photos are altered -- and the three celebrities did not attend the event honoring the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.
"LADY GAGA IS NOW ON THE RED CARPET IN CUSTOM CHANEL #MetGala," says a tweet shared May 1, 2023, as one of the year's top fashion events was underway at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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Pictures and videos of Gaga wearing the same white dress spread in other tweets -- including one from a page impersonating the celebrity-focused account "Pop Base." The photos also gathered tens of thousands of interactions on Instagram and TikTok.
The theme for this year's gala, organized by Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, was "In honor of Karl," paying homage to the Chanel designer who died February 19, 2019.
Despite posts claiming otherwise, Gaga did not attend this year's event -- the image shared online has been digitally manipulated.
The pop star does not appear in Vogue's livestream or in an article that includes a full list of looks. AFP's extensive coverage of the event also does not mention Gaga.
A reverse image search surfaced the original photo of Gaga in the white dress, which photographer Amanda Schwab took November 21, 2011.
"Singer Lady Gaga appears at a ribbon cutting ceremony to launch Gaga's Workshop, a holiday retail experience representing Lady Gaga's reinterpretation of Santa's workshop at Barneys department store in New York," the caption says.
Her silhouette was added on top of a photo of K-pop star Jennie Kim at the 2023 Met Gala.
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© AFP
Gaga is a crowd favorite on the Met's red carpet. She last attended the event in 2019 when she co-chaired the gala.
Zendaya and Selena Gomez
Other celebrities have also been the subject of manipulated images."Zendaya arrives at the 2023 #MetGala," says a May 1 tweet sharing an image of the "Euphoria" star. The same claim also circulated in Spanish.
But Zendaya's face was added to British singer Rita Ora's body. The original, unflipped version of the picture was taken by Getty Images photographer Mike Coppola.
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© AFP
Another May 1 tweet claims Selena Gomez made "A SURPRISE APPEARANCE AT THE #MetGala."
In this case, the accompanying image appears to be altered from photos of Lily James at the 2022 Met Gala.
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© AFP
As with Gaga, AFP photos and videos confirm neither star was present on the red carpet this year.
AFP has previously fact-checked other claims about Lady Gaga and high-profile celebrity events.
