Anna Wintour's Nightmare: Jennifer Aniston Disses the Lavish Met Gala and Reveals The Shocking Reason Why She Has Never Attended Fashion's Biggest Night
Jennifer Aniston revealed the show reason behind her decision to never attend the lavish event.
Sept. 2 2025, Published 7:34 p.m. ET
Jennifer Aniston has been one of Hollywood's biggest stars for three decades, and the actress has finally opened up about the surprising reason why she staunchly refuses to attend the glittering Met Gala, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Aniston, 56, confirmed, "Yes, I have [been invited], but I don’t go," in a new interview, revealing what's behind the style queen's decision to pass on the biggest fashion event of the year.
Too 'Overwhelming'
Aniston said the thought of attending the Met Gala 'overwhelms' her.
Aniston has never been shy about getting glam for red carpets, but walking up the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art every May holds no interest for her.
“It overwhelms me," The Morning Show star said about the A-list event where everyone's outfits need approval from host and now former Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour.
Aniston spilled that being in a room full of other impeccably dressed major stars is intimidating to her, and she tends to get "nervous."
“It’s the getting ready, the putting on the dress,” she confessed, adding she's a "jeans and flip-flops and tank top kind of girl" at heart.
Met Gala Is A 'Mental Game'
Aniston is no stranger to red carpet events, but refuses to attend the Met Gala.
As for what sets the Met Gala apart from other glam events she regularly attends, such as the Oscars and Emmys, Aniston dished, "I love dressing up too, but for me it’s a mental game of…’Let’s get dressed up, put on a fancy dress, makeup, get your hair all ‘purdy’ and go sit in a big room with your peers.’ [And yes,] everyone’s there to celebrate each other and have some fun, but I get nervous."
When it comes to red-carpet events overall, the Friends alum huffed about setting herself up for criticism.
"Some people find it like a sport where they build you up and then they love to tear you down. What’s the reason why people do it? Who knows? But I just try as best I can [to tune it out] because it doesn’t do you any good," Aniston sneered about her detractors.
'So Un-Fun'
Paltrow vowed to never attend the Met Gala again after a bad experience in 2013.
Several of Aniston's good pals have openly slammed the Met Gala over the years.
Gwyneth Paltrow infamously declared, “I'm never going again. It was so un-fun. It was boiling. It was too crowded. I did not enjoy it at all," about when she hit up the event in 2013, wearing a heavy pink satin Valentino gown with long sleeves.
However, Paltrow's bad memories must have faded, as she attended the Met Gala again in 2019, albeit wearing a much lighter, sheer Chloé maxi dress in pale yellow, which would not have been nearly as sweltering as her previous ensemble.
'I Don't Like the Farce'
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Schumer said the 2016 Met Gala would be her 'last,' yet attended two more times after bashing the event.
Amy Schumer called attending the 2016 Met Gala "punishment."
“It’s people doing an impression of having a conversation … I don’t like the farce. We’re dressed up like a bunch of f------ a-------,” she later told Howard Stern.
Not even an encounter with one of music's biggest superstars could save the evening.
“I got to meet Beyoncé and she was like, ‘Is this your first Met Gala?' And I was like, ‘It’s my last,'” Schumer snarked.
“I don’t like it. I have no interest in fashion … I don’t care," the Trainwreck star added as she couldn't get the point across enough how much she detested the Met Gala.
Despite her vocal protests, Schumer went on to attend the event the following year, as well as in 2022.
