"An icon gone too soon": Met Gala cockroach sparks hilarious meme fest online

A cockroach has been taking the internet by storm as it appeared on the Met Gala Red Carpet as even photographers seemingly took pictures of the infamous roach. The invitation to the New York Met Gala is known to be exclusive, with celebs from across the world wearing their best clothes that represent the theme of the Gala. However, this year, it was a cockroach that seemingly took people's fancy as it made an appearance on the very famous Red Carpet.

Photographers, security, and numerous publications were waiting for the night's final celebrities to arrive - the always fashionably late Rihanna and A$AP Rocky. However, before them, a single cockroach was seen on the carpet, causing a huge uproar among onlookers.

Veteran Kevin Mazur of Getty Images pretended to stomp on the insect as it bolted towards the event's entrance and then scuttled to its end goal. Mazur then swapped the pretense of stepping on it and instead took several images, close-ups and otherwise, of the now-famous cockroach.

According to Variety, the newest celebrity, unfortunately, met its demise before making it inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The internet took over and expressed joy and concern over the little insect's walk into the fashionista world and the imminent passing away of the Met Gala celebrity.

As they responded to Pop Crave's tweet about the cockroach, one person shared a GIF of Wendy Williams crying and wrote, "An icon gone too soon."

Netizens took to Twitter to discuss the Met Gala cockroach with joy and anguish

Several Twitter users called the tiny roach entering the exclusive Gala its 'debut' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The video of the insect making its run across the red carpet has gone viral on social media platforms and caused a riot from users on Twitter.

Originally posted by Variety, the cockroach video has taken the internet by storm with numerous users jumping in with their own versions of what happened. Several took to Twitter to post memes and jokes about the roach crawling across the not-so-red carpet.

A few users used a classic meme that showed the insect climbing out of the car and jumping into it. Others talked about how 'well-dressed' the roach was and posted hilarious-yet-detailed closeups of the cockroach.

Some made memes of the roach eating at the Gala after 'serving' its looks. Numerous others joked about how the roach was invited before them and expressed their fake sadness over the situation.

A few users made AI-generated videos of a roach dancing and showed the Met Gala roach dancing at the after-party of the event. Some users focused their memes on how the insect arrived before Rihanna did, and how bored the photographers had to be to have photographed the insect.

The death and stepping-on of the insect caused a meme fest online, with several expressing their dismay and extending condolences for the legendary pest. A few users posted reactions to the event and wrote 'RIP' to the 'little dude'.

Lastly, a separate set of users were annoyed about having to deal with the roach jokes for "at least a week" before it was forgotten altogether.

The gala will honor the legacy of Lagerfeld, who helmed fashion houses like Chanel and Fendi. The theme left everyone with outfits that sparked interest, memes, and comments online.

About the author

Jess is a trends writer at SK POP. She is pursuing her bachelor's degree in Arts from Sophia College and has previously contributed to spaces like Drishti IAS and The Midgard Times. In her spare time, she loves to stay updated about the latest social media trends and catch up with new movies on Netflix.

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