Naomi Campbell has “been banned” from attending the Met Gala due to an alleged feud with Anna Wintour.
The 2025 edition of the fundraising event, the biggest night in the fashion calendar, is taking place on Monday (5 May), uniting the biggest names in style, music, film and sports.
Amid rumours that certain stars are not permitted to attend, including Tina Fey and Demi Lovato, it’s now being claimed that supermodel Campbell is the latest person to have found their name scrapped from the guest list.
Campbell, 54, is believed to have been at loggerheads with the Vogue editor-in-chief since a comment she made at a New York Fashion Week event in September 2024.
It occurred after Wintour, 75, hit out at Campbell’s lateness while presenting her with the Fashion Icon Award.
“I am a very punctual person, and I have the honour of presenting tonight to someone who is often late,” she said.
Campbell was so late that Samira Nasa, the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, gave her the award instead – and in her acceptance speech, Campbell made the audience gasp when she said: “It wasn’t my choice to have the other lady – I’d much rather have this one.”
According to The Sun: “Naomi shot herself in the stiletto with that comment – you don’t throw shade at the queen of fashion and still expect to walk her red carpet.
“Naomi’s been a Met staple for decades, so her absence from the list hasn’t gone unnoticed. Everyone’s whispering – and it’s Anna’s way of reminding who runs the show.”
The Independent has contacted Campbell and Wintour for comment.
Campbell distanced herself from the ceremony just last week, calling the 2024 event her “last one” as she is “too old”.
“It’s too much for me, the anxiety,” she said in a video posted to YouTube. “I don’t know what number this is, I think it could be either 20 or 21. Can you imagine?”
Wintour has only ever officially revealed one individual she has banned from the event – US president Donald Trump.
The Met Gala – held each year in New York City on the first Monday in May – is a fundraiser that supports the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. This year’s them is Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.