Lena Waithe was scrolling through her phone on Met Gala Monday and ended up stumbling on something better than whatever she was looking for.
The writer and producer behind The Chi shared a simple list on Instagram documenting four years of Met Gala appearances. Her caption explained it plainly: “Was looking thru my phone today for something.” Then came the list.
2018 – Heavenly Bodies
2019 – Camp: Notes on Fashion
2022 – In America: An Anthology of Fashion
2024 – Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion
Four themes. Four nights. One very full camera roll.
For anyone keeping track, Waithe has attended the Met Gala four times over six years. She skipped 2020, 2021, and 2023. The first two gaps make sense. Those galas were canceled or rescheduled due to the pandemic. The 2023 skip is unexplained, and that’s perfectly fine. Not every celebrity shows up every year. Waithe’s more selective record actually makes each appearance feel like a deliberate choice rather than an obligation.
Her 2018 look is probably the one people remember most. The Heavenly Bodies theme called for something celestial or religious in spirit. Waithe arrived wearing a rainbow Pride flag cape designed by Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss. It was personal and striking. The image of her with the cape spread behind her became one of the most-shared Met Gala photos of that era. It’s the kind of red carpet moment that’s genuinely hard to manufacture. She showed up as herself and let the look carry the message. She’s one of the most visible Black queer figures in the entertainment industry, and the visual landed with real weight.
The 2019 Camp theme brought a completely different challenge. “Camp: Notes on Fashion” borrowed its concept from Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay on irony, excess, and deliberate artifice. The theme pushed guests toward theatrical, over-the-top looks. Waithe leaned into her signature suiting aesthetic. It fit her personal style without forcing anything dramatic.
The 2022 appearance came under “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” a theme centered on American fashion history and craftsmanship. And in 2024, the Sleeping Beauties theme invited guests to interpret the idea of nature and fashion waking back up from a kind of rest. Both themes had real creative range. Waithe showed up for all of them.
What makes this post feel interesting is how casual it is. There’s no announcement buried in the hashtags. No project being teased. Waithe was just poking through her phone, found some photos, and decided to share them. The #METMonday tag on actual Met Gala day was a nice touch. It’s almost like she was joining the conversation from a different angle.
That kind of low-key post is rarer than it sounds in celebrity social media. Most of what gets shared feels polished and strategic. A “look what I found” moment reads more like something a friend would text you than a PR move. For anyone who follows Waithe as much for her personality as her fashion choices, it’s a good reminder of what makes her worth following.
She brings a genuine point of view to the red carpet. Her looks tend to mean something beyond the designer label. That 2018 cape is proof of that. And that kind of moment holds up years later. Most Met Gala outfits can’t say the same.
No word yet on a 2026 appearance. Her track record speaks for itself. She tends to show up with something worth paying attention to.
