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No—Katy Perry did not attend the 2024 Met Gala. On May 6, 2024, she shared viral images that appeared to show her in elaborate floral gowns and wrote, “Couldn’t make it to the MET, had to work.” She also posted a screenshot of her mother praising one of the apparent looks before Perry told her, “lol mom the AI got you too, BEWARE!”
What happened with the Katy Perry Met Gala AI pictures?
On May 6, 2024, images of Perry in ornate floral outfits circulated on social media as though they showed her at the Met Gala. One featured a voluminous floral gown; another showed a green, floral look. Perry shared the pictures alongside her Instagram caption: “Couldn’t make it to the MET, had to work.” PolitiFact rated the claim that the pictures showed her at the 2024 gala “Pants on Fire.” PolitiFact’s fact-check
Did Katy Perry’s mom really think the picture was real?
Perry posted a screenshot of a text exchange in which her mother appeared to take the image for a real gala photo. In the screenshot, her mother wrote, “Didn’t know you went to the Met,” then complimented the gown: “What a gorgeous gown, you look like the Rose Parade, you are your own float lol.” Perry replied, “lol mom the AI got you too, BEWARE!” The exchange is a screenshot Perry shared, reproduced in PolitiFact’s account; it should be understood as a reported personal exchange, not an independently verified interview with her mother. PolitiFact
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What clues showed the images were not from the 2024 event?
Perry said she was elsewhere
Her own caption said she could not attend because she had to work. That directly contradicts the claim that the viral images documented her appearance at the gala.
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The carpet and setting did not match
The 2024 Met Gala carpet was cream-colored with moss-green accents. The carpet in the floral-gown image was closer to the red-edged pattern associated with the 2018 event, and the surrounding leafy walls also evoked that earlier setting. PolitiFact cautioned that the image’s carpet was not an exact match to the 2018 carpet; the mismatch is a clue, not a precise identification of where the image was made. The Associated Press also noted that the carpet did not match the 2024 event. PolitiFact · Associated Press
The second image had visible oddities
Forbes reported abnormalities in a thumb and one eye in the second image. Such details may prompt closer scrutiny of a particular picture, but they are not a dependable stand-alone test for whether any image is AI-generated. Forbes
Who made the images, and what AI tool was used?
The reporting did not establish a verified creator, prompt, or image-generation tool. The Associated Press said the source or sources were difficult to determine, so attributing the images to a specific person, software, or motive would go beyond what is known. Associated Press
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchHow widely did one image circulate?
Forbes reported that one image had received more than 8 million views and more than 270,000 likes as of its May 6, 2024 report. Those are figures from that dated snapshot, not current totals or a measure of how many viewers believed the image was real. Forbes
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the incident does—and does not—show about AI images
The episode illustrates how a convincing synthetic image can be mistaken for a real event photo, even by someone close to the person pictured. It does not establish how often people generally mistake AI-generated images for photographs: the reported exchange is an anecdote, not a population-level study. AP quoted Cayce Myers, a professor and director of graduate studies at Virginia Tech’s School of Communication, saying, “It used to be that seeing is believing, and now seeing is not believing.” Associated Press
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