LeBron James Pulls Out Of Met Gala, Rappers Light Up Event

LeBron James missed the 2025 Met Gala due to a knee injury while his wife Savannah James took his place on the red carpet in New York.

LeBron James bowed out of the 2025 Met Gala in New York on Monday night (May 5) after suffering a knee injury during the Los Angeles Lakers’ early playoff exit, despite being named an honorary chair for the high-profile event.

“Unfortunately, because of my knee injury I sustained at the end of the season, I won’t be able to attend the Met Gala in NY tonight as so many people have been asking and congratulating me on! Hate to miss an historical event!” James posted on Twitter (X).

According to ESPN, the 39-year-old NBA star revealed he sustained a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee during the Lakers’ first-round playoff loss last week.

The setback ended his postseason run and sidelined him from fashion’s most exclusive red carpet.

James, who has hinted at retirement, told reporters after the Lakers’ elimination that he would need to discuss his future with his “support group” and family.

In his absence, James confirmed his wife Savannah would represent the family at the gala, saying she would be “holding the castle down as she always has done!” He also praised her as a “beautiful powerful Queen.”

The Met Gala, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is an annual fundraiser for the Costume Institute.

This year’s event celebrated the opening of “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” an exhibition inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.

Co-chairs for the evening included Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and longtime Met Gala architect Anna Wintour.

Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj, Chance the Rapper, André 3000, A$AP Rocky and other popular rap artists walked the red carpet in unique outfits.

Check out some of the night’s most memorable looks:

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