Timothée Chalamet skipped the 2026 Met Gala, and the internet noticed for one obvious reason: Kylie Jenner was there without him.
The actor, 30, chose Madison Square Garden over fashion’s biggest night on Monday, sitting courtside as the New York Knicks opened their second-round playoff series with a dominant 137-98 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
For a Knicks fan, it was a dream night. For celebrity-watchers tracking Chalamet and Jenner, it raised a more gossipy question: why was he not at the Met Gala with Kylie?
Timothée Chalamet Chose The Knicks Over Kylie’s Met Gala Night
Chalamet has become a familiar face courtside at Knicks games, and on Monday he was back in his usual front-row spot. His baby-blue Adidas were visible near the hardwood as New York crushed Philadelphia and sent fans into full playoff mode. The strange part was the timing.
Across town, Kylie Jenner was at the Met Gala, joined by Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Kris Jenner. For the Kardashian-Jenner family, the Met Gala is not just another red carpet. It is one of their biggest visibility moments of the year. That made Chalamet’s absence feel louder than a standard scheduling conflict.
Is Everything Fine With Kylie And Timothée?
There is no confirmed sign that anything is wrong between Chalamet and Jenner. Still, this is the kind of celebrity decision people read into fast.
Skipping the Met Gala while your girlfriend attends with her family is going to create questions, especially when that girlfriend is Kylie Jenner. The event is her world. The Knicks are his.
That may actually be the simplest explanation. Chalamet had to choose between a major fashion night and a playoff game in New York. He chose the Knicks.
Ben Stiller, another major Knicks courtside regular, went the other way and attended the Met Gala. Spike Lee reportedly chose the game this year, reversing his much-discussed 2025 choice. So Chalamet was not alone in treating the Knicks like the main event.
Fans Are Reading Into The Missing Red Carpet Moment
The Met Gala itself already had its share of drama, especially with Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez as major sponsors amid backlash over billionaire influence. But for Kylie and Timothée watchers, the bigger story was simpler: she walked the carpet, and he was nowhere near it.
The joke almost writes itself. Imagine telling Kylie Jenner you are skipping her fashion Super Bowl for an early second-round basketball game.
That does not mean a breakup is coming. It may mean Chalamet is more serious about the Knicks than casual fans realized. It may also mean he and Kylie are comfortable doing separate things on the same night.
Still, when a celebrity couple is this watched, absence becomes its own headline. Chalamet may have earned his Knicks fan card Monday night. Whether he cost himself a few Kardashian points is another question.
