Rihanna Missed 2024 Met Gala Due To Flu, Source Reveals

Rihanna is giving the Met Gala a miss this year, leaving fans wondering about her notable absence. A close source revealed to PEOPLE that the Grammy-winner is battling the flu and won’t be gracing the red carpet this time around. 

This comes as a surprise since Rihanna and her partner, A$AP Rocky, are known for their strikingly late yet unforgettable arrivals at the event. Remember 2021? They made their grand entrance at 10 p.m., setting a trend of fashionably late appearances.

The dynamic duo spent the recent weekend in Miami, turning heads as usual. Rihanna supported A$AP Rocky at his Puma pop-up shop, flaunting a new bubblegum pink hairstyle and dazzling in a black satin dress complemented by a matching corset. Accessories weren’t amiss as she sported a sparkling diamond ‘A’ necklace and a hefty silver diamond ring, paired with pink tennis shoes.

Speaking of style, Rihanna had previously hinted to Extra that her look for this year’s Met Gala was going to be “real simple,” focusing more on her makeup and hair rather than her outfit. 

“I’m actually just keeping it real simple this year. Very simple… I think it’s gonna come to what my makeup and what my hair is going to do. We wanna play with that, but I have no idea what I’m gonna do with that….very simple-ish…compared to everything I’ve ever done. I’m showing up for dinner! Shout out to Anna Wintour,” she said.

If Rihanna attended the Met Gala and pulled the simple look she planned, it would have been a shift from her usual bold Met Gala statements, like the dramatic Guo Pei canary yellow gown she donned in 2015, which is still etched in everyone’s memories. That year, she almost didn’t wear the fur-trimmed cape that cascaded down the Met steps, as the designer herself thought it might be too cumbersome.

Even when Rihanna steps back from her usual flair, she remains a style icon. As a new mom, she admits her fashion has become more about comfort and what fits. 

“When you become a mom, your style goes from like ‘blah’ to ‘let’s see what fits’ to ‘I’m gonna be a bad bitch today.’ You’ve got to remind yourself a little bit sometimes, you know, bad bitch is still in there somewhere. You wanna be comfortable because you’re moving around so much and then it’s whatever fits. Right now, my clothes are either too big or too small most of the time,” she shared.

While fans will miss her presence at this year’s Met Gala, Rihanna’s past ensembles, like the unforgettable Maison Margiela piece in 2018 when she co-chaired the event, continue to influence fashion trends worldwide.