3 min readNew DelhiMay 4, 2026 10:00 PM IST
One wrong move at the Met Gala earns you a permanent spot on the blacklist. Anna Wintour’s rules are absolute: no selfies, no smoking, and a strict 18+ age limit. Even the food is policed, with onions and garlic banned from the menu entirely. While breaking protocol may seem bold, it usually results in a lifetime ban from the guest list. Here are some of the most bizarre Met Gala rules in place that you did not know existed.
No garlic or onion
In a conversation with Jenna Bush Hager on The Today Show last year, Wintour revealed her banned list for the event: “Those are three things I’m not particularly fond of,” she said, referring to garlic, onion, and chives. While the absence of these ingredients may seem surprising — especially given their foundational role in cooking — they’ve been off-limits at the Met Gala.
Entrance fee
According to The New York Times, the price of one ticket is around $75,000 ($25,000 more than the year before), with tables beginning at $350,000. The tables are generally bought by big brands and fashion houses, but everyone must be approved by Vogue and its editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour.
20-second rule
According to Anna: The Biography by Amy Odell, each guest, as they enter, is allowed a maximum of 20 seconds to speak with Anna Wintour at the top of the stairs.
Intense, huh? We’re just halfway through.
Alia Bhatt at the Met Gala 2024. (Source: Instagram/@aliabhatt)
No smoking or touching the artwork
Smoking is prohibited, as it violates New York City’s Smoke-Free Air Act. However, this doesn’t stop celebrities from smoking in the bathrooms at the Met — as we have noticed in widely circulated pictures on social media and leaked online. Touching the artwork, well, you’ve been warned.
No phones allowed
The use of phones for photography and social media will not be permitted inside the gala.
Stick to the seating chart
The organizers start with a seating document in December and finalise the chart in April. Back in 2023, Met Gala organiser Eaddy Kiernan told Vogue, “We really try to think very carefully about who’s sitting next to each other. Our ideal pairing would maybe be two people who we think will just get on like a house on fire but who may not even realize that they have a lot in common. So, with each person, we really do take time to think, ‘What will they talk about?”
Story continues below this ad
There’s also significant thought given to people who have been linked together previously. “We try and think a lot about sight lines and where people have sat in the past. And we try to make sure someone isn’t staring into the eyes of a former flame,” Kiernan had added.
Oh and FYI, attendees aren’t allowed to sit next to their spouses.
18+ only
The Met Gala organisers previously told The Hollywood Reporter that “it’s not an appropriate event for people under 18”, and that was an executive decision.
