Category: BUSINESS

  • Watch Blue Ivy’s iconic moments before stellar ‘Cowboy Carter’ dancing

    Watch Blue Ivy’s iconic moments before stellar ‘Cowboy Carter’ dancing

    Blue Ivy Carter has the Beyhive buzzing as she’s taken on a lead role on her mom’s “Cowboy Carter” tour. She’s wowing some fans with her dance moves, but for those who have been watching closely, it’s no surprise the 13-year-old has an iconic presence.

    Beyoncé Knowles-Carter first launched her Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit Tour on April 28 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Fans from all over the world traveled to witness Beyoncé’s Los Angeles shows, which were filled with family, politics, soaring vocals, incredible fashion and masterful dancing.

    Many fans watching online and in the stadium were left floored by Blue Ivy’s performance throughout the night as she danced center stage. However, the Beyhive knows superstardom has been brewing in her bones. Here’s a list of some iconic Blue Ivy moments over the years.

    • Blue has been playfully deemed Beyoncé’s “manager” by fans all over the internet due to her poised presence and sharp instincts. This was exemplified during the 2025 Grammys, where Beyoncé took home the award for best country album and album of the year, and Blue motioned to her mom to go onstage for her award.

    • And when it comes to manager Blue, she tends to make things happen. In Beyoncé’s movie “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” Blue convinced the global superstar to keep the song “Diva” on the final set list, and the song made it into the “Cowboy Carter” tour, as well.

    • Blue Ivy has also been present in major cultural moments. During Jay-Z’s acceptance speech at the 2024 Grammys, he took the stage with Blue as he called out the Recording Academy’s snubs against his wife, Beyoncé.

    • At the age of 10, Blue Ivy performed at the Academy Awards amongst dancers during her mother’s performance of “Be Alive.” She received a lot of praise for her moves. 
    • Blue Ivy was featured on Beyoncé’s song “Brown Skin Girl” and in the accompanying music video. This feature earned young Blue a list of accolades, including becoming the second youngest person ever to win a Grammy, the youngest person to receive a BET Award and the youngest winner of an MTV Video Music Award.

    • Two days after she was born, Time magazine deemed Blue Ivy the “most famous baby in the world.”
    • Beyoncé first introduced Blue Ivy to the world onstage at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. Beyoncé performed her hit “Love on Top” before rubbing her belly.

    The nine-city “Cowboy Carter” tour will span the U.S. and Europe with the grand finale taking place in Las Vegas on July 26. Beyoncé is set to make history with her scheduled tour dates, including by playing the most dates at SoFi Stadium of any artist.

    Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network’s Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on InstagramTikTok and X as @cachemcclay.

  • Porn's long cultural shadowBooks

    Porn's long cultural shadowBooks

    Porn’s long cultural shadowBooks

  • Porn's long cultural shadow | The ExcerptBooks

    Porn's long cultural shadow | The ExcerptBooks

    Porn’s long cultural shadow | The ExcerptBooks

  • ‘Laugh In’ star was 88

    ‘Laugh In’ star was 88

    Ruth Buzzi, a variety-show veteran most famous for her role on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”, has died. She was 88.

    Buzzi died May 1 at her Texas home, her agent Michael Eisenstadt confirmed to USA TODAY in a May 2 statement.

    “Her husband of almost 48 years, Kent Perkins expressed to me that she was making people laugh just a few days ago,” Eisenstadt wrote. “I was Ruth’s agent for over 30 years. She was warm, loving and funny. A great person who was considered a family member.”

    A female comic from an era when they were scarce, Buzzi “passed away peacefully,” according to Eisenstadt, due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease, a neurodegenerative condition from which she suffered for 10 years.

    Buzzi, whose comedy was as physical as it was cerebral, reeled in laughs from audience members as Gladys Ormphby on “Laugh-In” − a curmudgeonly and drably dressed woman whose weapon of choice was a purse she would comically swing at those passing her threshold of annoyance.

    Part of an all-star ensemble on a show that claimed a definitive role in the cultural zeitgeist, Buzzi appeared on “Laugh-In” from 1968 to 1973, earning a Golden Globe for best supporting actress in a series, miniseries, or motion picture made for television as well as several Emmy nominations in the process.

    The show, replete with flower-power aesthetics and a raunchy sensibility, showed off Buzzi’s knack for physical comedy above the neck, her characters often contorting their faces for the sake of caricature.

    Starting work as an entertainer right out of high school, Buzzi got her start with a guest spot on “The Gary Moore Show,” later becoming a regular on “The Entertainers,” a CBS variety show.

    Her variety series chops grew with a stint on “The Steve Allen Comedy Hour,” helping her to land the “Laugh-In” gig and cementing her performance niche as a brilliant character actress with a knack for timing.

    Outside of the variety show circuit, Buzzi enjoyed an illustrious career, with several film roles, guest spots on television series, time spent as a regular on “Sesame Street” and a smattering of off-Broadway productions.

    In a post made shortly before the announcement of her death, Buzzi’s husband, Kent Perkins, wrote on her Facebook page: “She wants you to know she probably had more fun doing those shows than you had watching them.”

  • ‘Four Seasons’ Netflix ending explained: Let’s unpack that cliffhanger

    ‘Four Seasons’ Netflix ending explained: Let’s unpack that cliffhanger

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    Spoiler alert! The following story contains details about the Season 1 finale of Netflix’s “Four Seasons” (now streaming).

    For much of the “The Four Seasons,” Jack (Will Forte) and Kate’s (Tina Fey) relationship is on thin ice.

    The college sweethearts frequently struggle to communicate throughout the Netflix dramedy (now streaming). With their own daughter, Beth (Ashlyn Maddox), off at school, Kate is frustrated by Jack’s lack of initiative, while he sees her as overly critical. But after a near-death experience on a frozen lake during the winter, the couple takes stock of their love and reaffirms that they are soulmates.

    “We are rooting for them to stay together,” says Lang Fisher, who adapted the show from Alan Alda’s 1981 movie with Fey and writer-producer Tracey Wigfield. “There are hills and valleys in every relationship, especially long relationships. If you recently became empty nesters, you’re like, ‘Who have we become? Do we still work together? At this point in our lives, what do we want out of our marriage and for ourselves?’ They are having these growing pains over the season, but in the end, you want them to be like, ‘No, I choose you, and I will take a step towards you when things get tough.’ I hope people will find that very romantic and hopeful.”

    Fey first saw the movie roughly 40 years ago, and says she wanted to preserve “tentpole moments” that stuck with her, such as a key fight between Jack and Kate during a college parents’ weekend. But with eight half-hour episodes, she also had time to explore characters such as Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver) in “a more detailed way.”

    Here are a few big questions that we had after watching the “Four Seasons” finale:

    Why did the series kill Nick, Steve Carell’s character?

    Much of the show’s drama revolves around Nick (Steve Carell), who leaves his wife, Anne, for a younger woman, Ginny (Erika Henningsen). During a ski vacation in the seventh episode, Ginny complains that Nick is not being fully present with her friends. It’s their last conversation before he dies in a fatal car crash on a late-night trip to the grocery store on New Year’s Eve.

    Although the series otherwise closely follows the storyline of Alda’s original film, Nick’s death is a major departure.

    “We regret it now, because it was great having Steve on the show. What are we going to do for Season 2?” Wigfield jokes. “No, we thought about it a lot, but we made the decision to kill Nick early on (in the writing process). This show is all about middle age and the real stakes of life when you’re in your 40s and 50s. You think your life is so settled, but it’s not so crazy for a friend in their 50s or 60s to die unexpectedly. If we’re doing a show about friends who have seen each other through the good things and the worst things, part of that was wanting to see this group come together in the wake of tragedy.”

    The eighth and final episode revolves around Nick’s funeral, as Kate, Jack, Anne, Ginny, Danny (Colman Domingo) and Claude (Marco Calvani) wrestle with how best to memorialize him.

    “It shouldn’t be the job of one person to remember someone,” Wigfield says. “Only a big group of friends can truly remember all that a person was.”

    What does that pregnancy cliffhanger mean for Ginny (Erika Henningsen)?

    From the moment Ginny is brought into the fold in Episode 3, Nick’s pals struggle to accept his bright and adventurous new girlfriend. Ginny eventually calls out the group following Nick’s funeral, explaining that just because they dated for a short period of time it doesn’t mean the relationship was any less meaningful to her.

    In other films and TV shows, “you’ve seen the younger woman who might be a little ditzy or shallow, and we wanted to make sure this character felt real,” Wigfield says.

    Anne and Ginny ultimately reach an understanding by the end of Episode 8. And while sitting down for dinner in the last moments of the season, Anne reveals to the entire group that Ginny is pregnant with Nick’s baby, just before the credits roll.

    “It’s a funny episode, but a sad episode, too,” Fisher says. “We liked the idea that there’s a hopeful tag at the end. Also, in setting up a possible Season 2, it ties Ginny into the group and presents interesting dynamics with her and Anne. Now, they’ll have children who are siblings of very different ages, and it lets Ginny still be part of this group as we see them in the next year moving forward.”

    Where might Kate (Tina Fey) and friends go in a potential Season 2?

    Netflix has not yet announced whether “The Four Seasons” has been renewed for a second season, but the cast has plenty of ideas about where they would like the show’s core friend group to vacation next.

    “If you talk to Marco, he’d be like, ‘We have to visit Claude’s family in Italy!’ Right, Marco, go tell that to (production company) Universal Television,” Fey jokes. “I don’t know. I think Lang and Tracey and I are going to start thinking and talking in a week or two. By then we’ll know whether the world is like, ‘No! Pass!’”

    Henningsen offers Poland and Iceland as possibilities, given that Nick was always resistant to go see the Northern Lights (as he called them, “God’s screensaver”). Or, Fey suggests, “maybe they just take an 11-minute journey to space.”

  • Why won’t Diddy’s trial be televised?

    Why won’t Diddy’s trial be televised?

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    O.J. Simpson. Johnny Depp. Michael Jackson.

    America’s fascination with celebrity is perhaps only topped by the intrigue when one such celebrity goes on trial.

    At the nexus of Hollywood and the judicial system, the oft-televised proceedings present the ultimate spectacle, as the dirty laundry of society’s most famous names becomes available by court order for public consumption.

    The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs promises to be no different, as the disgraced music mogul faces federal charges for racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.

    But unlike in the cases of Depp or Simpson, eager trial watchers will have to rely on courtroom sketches and reporter dispatches from inside, as cameras have been shut out of the proceedings.

    Why won’t the Diddy trial be televised?

    Because Combs faces federal criminal charges, the presence of “electronic media” is expressly banned by a procedural rule passed in 1946.

    Entitled Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, the statute bars both photographs and broadcasting from the courtroom of a federal criminal trial. R. Kelly’s federal criminal trial, on similar charges, was also not televised.

    The rules around federal civil proceedings are slightly more flexible, allowing for recording in some instances at the discretion of the judge. Some criminal trials at the state level, like in the closely watched case of Alex Murdaugh, allow for cameras in the courtroom.

    When does Diddy’s trial start?

    Combs’ trial, which will take place in downtown Manhattan, is currently set to begin May 5 with jury selection. The trial’s start date is the same day as the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, just miles away from the courthouse.

    On multiple occasions, Combs attended the exclusive annual gala, benefitting the museum’s Costume Institute. 

    What charges does Diddy face?

    Diddy is charged with two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering.

    Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations contributing to criminal activity.

    Using RICO law, which is typically aimed at targeting multi-person criminal organizations, prosecutors allege that Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in “freak offs” — sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors claim they have video of.

    Contributing: Jay Stahl, Taijuan Moorman, KiMi Robinson, Edward Segarra, USA TODAY

  • ‘Little House on the Prairie’ casts new Laura, Melissa Gilbert shares

    ‘Little House on the Prairie’ casts new Laura, Melissa Gilbert shares

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    Netflix’s reboot of the “Little House on the Prairie” has found its new little Laura.

    Melissa Gilbert, who starred as the original Laura Ingalls, took to Instagram on May 2 to help the streaming service share the casting news of the new show’s first cast member Alice Halsey.

    Gilbert starred in the original version of the popular NBC show, which premiered in 1974 and still boasts a cult following in present day. The program, based on the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, inspired a generation of women and celebrated its 50th anniversary last year with dozens of fan events across America. 

    “And…here she is. Wising them and @thealicehalsey all the luck in the world!!” Gilbert captioned the heartfelt post. “Netflix’s new Little House on the Prairie series has found its Laura Ingalls! We are so thrilled to announce that Alice Halsey will be playing the iconic role of Laura Ingalls. Please give her a warm welcome to the Little House family!”

    Gilbert added in her caption that “The ‘Little House’ books endure to this day because so many people see themselves in Laura. She is a disruptor. Honest to a fault. Questions authority. And she’s our window into this adventure.”

    Halsey is an alum of the Golden Globe-nominated miniseries “Lessons in Chemistry,” starring Brie Larson, and the long-running NBC soap opera “Days of Our Lives,” which now airs on streaming service Peacock.

    Gilbert spoke to USA TODAY about how “Little House” changed a generation of young people, in an interview published in April 2024.

    “The thing that moves me the most is when people tell me the stories of how ‘Little House on the Prairie’ impacted their lives, what their childhoods were like, and why it was so important to them,” Gilbert told USA TODAY. “A lot of people have said – and I’m sure will continue to say to me – ‘Look, you were my escape from a bad childhood.’ … We taught a lot of lessons and provided a lot of escapist entertainment.”

    Netflix ‘Little House’ will feature fresh take on beloved franchise

    Earlier this year, Netflix announced that it would produce its own version of “Little House” based on Ingalls Wilder’s beloved books.

    “The new ‘Little House on the Prairie’ is part family drama, part epic survival tale, and part origin story of the American West. The series will offer a kaleidoscopic view of the struggles and triumphs of those who shaped the frontier,” a press release read about Netflix’s fresh take on the tried-and-true program.

    Contributing: Laura Trujillo

  • What is a Black dandy?

    What is a Black dandy?

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    This year’s Met Gala will pay homage to a lesser-known element of fashion history.

    With a nod to menswear, the dress code for this year’s event is “Tailored for You,” while the theme is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”

    The theme will coincide with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibit of the same name, on view May 10 to Oct. 26 and inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.” The exhibition will explore “the importance of style to the formation of Black identities in the Atlantic diaspora,” particularly in the United States and Europe, and interpret “dandyism” as both an aesthetic and a socio-political strategy through garments, art and other objects from the 18th century to the present.

    Here’s what to know about dandyism as a concept and how fashion’s biggest stars may interpret this year’s theme.

    What is a Black dandy, and what is ‘dandyism’?

    Dandyism is characterized by an intense focus on aesthetics. Black dandyism began emerging as far back as 1700s England, when slave owners who wanted to flaunt their wealth began dressing their slaves in expensive clothing, creating a “dandified black servant” or “luxury slave” trend, according to Miller, a professor at Columbia University who also serves as the Met’s guest curator for this exhibit.

    Black men read the room, recognizing the power dynamics clothing signaled, and began making their involuntary uniforms their own. Black dandyism became a practice in which Black people used the power of clothing, personal style and even humor and wit as a form of resistance, and a way for them to push back on societal limitations and negative perceptions not just in terms of race, but also class, gender and sexuality.

    At its core, the Black dandy figure uses fashion and aesthetics to engage in these power dynamics, highlighting the importance of personal style in shaping one’s identity.

    “Dandyism can seem frivolous, but it often poses a challenge to or a transcendence of social and cultural hierarchies,” said Miller in a Feb. 4 statement, per Vogue. “It asks questions about identity, representation, and mobility in relation to race, class, gender, sexuality, and power.”

    2025 Met Gala inspiration: Think André 3000, co-chair Colman Domingo

    Miller points to historic figure Julius Soubise, a freed slave and 18th-century London socialite described as a “sartorial impresario,” as an example of the Black dandy. But there are modern-day examples, from Prince, André Leon Talley and André 3000 to hip-hop fashion icon Dapper Dan and designer LaQuan Smith.

    Tyler, the Creator and Met Gala co-chairs Pharrell Williams and Colman Domingo are some other notable figures who lean into the aesthetic, as well as women like Met Gala host committee member Janelle Monáe and singer Solange, who both often play with bold patterns and colors as well as traditional dandyism: polished silhouettes, tailored suits and structured styles.

    Vogue’s May 2025 covers offered more design direction, with shots of Met co-chairs A$AP Rocky, Lewis Hamilton and Domingo, as well as an assortment of other stars including Yara Shahidi, Aaron Pierre, Teyana Taylor, Jon Batiste and others. As Monáe and Lakeith Stanfield put it, it’s all about “individuality” and “freedom.”

    So how will the stars take on the “Tailoring Black Style” theme? We’ll have to wait until May 5 to find out.

    Contributing: Edward Segarra

  • Prince Harry says he wants ‘reconciliation’ with King Charles, family

    Prince Harry says he wants ‘reconciliation’ with King Charles, family

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    Prince Harry is speaking out about how he “would love a reconciliation” with the royal family in an emotional and explosive interview following a lost legal challenge in the U.K.

    The Duke of Sussex told BBC News that father King Charles III “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff,” adding that that he no longer wants to fight with his family.

    He also told the British outlet, during an interview in California, “I don’t know how much longer my father has.” Charles, 76, who recently battled cancer, said earlier this week that the disease helped show him “the very best of humanity.”

    “I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point,” Harry said after his lost legal challenge May 2 to overturn the British government’s changes to his security detail.

    However, despite the fact that “there have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family,” Harry said that he has now “forgiven” his fellow royals.

    The court loss directly impacts future U.K. visits for Harry, who sought to overturn a decision made by the Home Office, a government department responsible for policing and security, that said he would not receive personal security detail while in Britain.

    In 2020, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figure, known as RAVEC, decided Harry would no longer be eligible to receive publicly-funded security protection provided by the state. The decision has long been criticized by the former working royal, who announced he would step away from his official duties alongside his American-born wife, Duchess Meghan, in January 2020.

    In an apparent reference to his mother Princess Diana’s 1997 death, Harry told the BBC: “I don’t want history to repeat itself.”

    Prince Harry criticizes Buckingham Palace for co-signing security decision

    On May 2, Harry issued a lengthy statement denouncing the Court of Appeals’ May 2 ruling upholding the decision about his U.S. security.

    “I want to start by thanking my legal team and the Court of Appeal Judges for their time and expertise in unravelling this issue that stemmed from the previous government,” his statement began. “This process has only ever been about ensuring my safety and that of my immediate family when we are in in the United Kingdom, so that we may safely visit my home country with the same level of security that other governments deem necessary for our protection.”

    He added: “My ask has been simple: that the standard protocols for security and risk assessments be applied to me in the same way they are to others — including people who have never carried out any public functions on behalf of the State.”

    Harry maintained that RAVEC “has failed to follow its own mandated processes for me, which are applied to all other high-risk and high-profile individuals,” and vowed to appeal to the Home Secretary “to ask her to urgently examine the matter and review the RAVEC process.”

    In the statement, the Duke of Sussex again criticized the 2020 decision, which resulted in “stripping me of the protection I’ve had since birth, whilst signaling to all other governments to do the same.”

    He continued, “This reckless action knowingly put me and my family in harm’s way. Life is precious and I understand the fragility of it.”

    The statement claimed “this legal action has been a last resort” and he at first “attempted to resolve this issue privately, even offering to independently cover the costs of necessary and effective police protection in order to keep me and my family safe.” Harry also took aim at the royal household, alleging it could have RAVEC conduct a “risk, threat and impact assessment” regarding Harry’s security “at any point.”

    He concluded: “The only possible conclusion that can be drawn is they choose not to, because they know the outcome would prove that my security should never have been removed in the first place.”

    What was the ruling on Prince Harry’s UK security?

    In a statement regarding Harry’s legal case, Buckingham Palace said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”

    The Home Office said it welcomed the decision: “The U.K. government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.”

    Judge Geoffrey Vos said Harry’s lawyer had made “powerful and moving arguments” about the impact of the decision about his security.

    “It was plain that the Duke of Sussex felt badly treated by the system, but I conclude – having studied the detail of the extensive documentation – I could not say that the duke’s sense of grievance translated into a legal argument for the challenge to RAVEC’s decision,” he told the court.

    Last year, the High Court in London ruled the decision was lawful. That ruling was later upheld by three senior Court of Appeal judges.

    Prince Harry lawyer said his ‘life is at stake’ from security changes

    In a story published in April, Harry opened up to People magazine about the security ordeal, telling the outlet he was “exhausted and overwhelmed” from a two-day appeal hearing surrounding the British government’s 2020 ruling.

    The magazine reported that Harry believes that his security was removed to draw him and Meghan back to the U.K. after they retreated to Meghan’s home stage of California, calling the security issue “difficult to swallow.”

    Harry told People that his “worst fears have been confirmed by the whole legal disclosure in this case — and that’s really sad.” On April 9, Harry’s lawyer warned his life was in danger over the security changes during the prince’s two-day visit to London’s Royal Courts of Justice for his appeal.

    “One must not forget the human dimension to this case: There is a person sitting behind me whose safety, whose security and whose life is at stake,” his lawyer Shaheed Fatima told the court as Harry looked on.

    Harry’s legal loss comes amid his and Meghan’s return to public life

    Harry’s legal loss comes as he has made a fully-fledged return to public life alongside Duchess Meghan.

    After a rocky start to post-royal life, with the pair’s infamous bombshell Oprah interview and mixed reviews about his tell-all book “Spare,” Harry and Meghan have seemingly found their footing. The parents to son Prince Archie, 5, and 3-year-old daughter Princess Lilibet have started careers in entertainment through their shared brand Archewell.

    In 2025, Meghan reemerged with a pair of pre-Harry-inspired pursuits: a Netflix show, “With Love,” and a companion lifestyle brand, As Ever. Before meeting Harry, she was the curator of a successful lifestyle blog, The Tig. She also hosts a popular new podcast “Confessions of a Female Founder.”

    Harry, too, is set to become a Netflix star soon and produce a program for the streaming service that will gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the world of professional polo, his beloved sport, at the U.S. Open Polo Championship in Wellington, Florida.

    Meghan and Harry starred in the four-part docuseries “Harry & Meghan,” which followed their exit from royal life and recounted their side of what happened behind the palace doors.

    Contributing: Reuters

  • Date, theme, how to watch and celebrity hosts

    Date, theme, how to watch and celebrity hosts

    The aesthetic of this year’s Met Gala in three words? Pure Black excellence.

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual fashion extravaganza is back, and this time, the event is paying homage to the debonair flair of Black menswear and its evolution over the centuries.

    Celebrity attendees and their high-fashion ateliers will be tasked with reimagining the Black “dandy” for their gala attire. Defined as a “man unduly devoted to style,” the term became associated with Black men in 18th-century Europe as a trend of smartly dressed servant staff emerged.

    “Dandyism offered Black people an opportunity to use clothing, gesture, irony, and wit to transform their given identities and imagine new ways of embodying political and social possibilities,” a previous release from the Met stated.

    Here’s the sartorial 411 on fashion’s biggest night.

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    Met Gala 2024: Zendaya’s outfit change, Usher explains his look

    The stars were out at the 2024 Met Gala. USA TODAY’s Anika Reed had a front row seat to the action and chatted with Usher about his look.

    When is the Met Gala 2025?

    Held on the first Monday of May, the 2025 Met Gala will take place May 5.

    Who is hosting Met Gala 2025?

    The co-chairs for the 2025 Met Gala are singer-songwriter and fashion designer Pharrell Williams, Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo, Grammy-nominated rapper A$AP Rocky and British racecar driver Lewis Hamilton.

    Meanwhile, NBA superstar LeBron James will serve as an honorary co-chair, and Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour will reprise her presiding co-chair role.

    In addition to the co-chairs, a host committee has also been announced.

    The star-studded group includes the likes of Usher, Regina King, Spike Lee, Simone Biles and husband Jonathan Owens, Janelle Monáe, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri and many more.

    What is the Met Gala?

    The Costume Institute Benefit, commonly known as Met Gala, is a fundraiser for the museum’s Costume Institute, which hosts a collection of over 33,000 fashion artifacts. The 2024 Met Gala raised approximately $26 million, according to The New York Times and The Associated Press.

    What is the Met Gala 2025 theme?

    The theme coincides with the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s spring exhibit, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” which the institute describes as a “cultural and historical examination of Black style over three hundred years through the concept of dandyism.”

    Inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” the exhibit theme explores how the multicultural blend of African and European styles informed Black identity during the Atlantic diaspora — the mass uprooting of African communities as a result of the slave trade between the 16th and 19th centuries.

    “Dandyism can seem frivolous, but it often poses a challenge to or a transcendence of social and cultural hierarchies,” said Miller in a Feb. 4 statement, per Vogue. “It asks questions about identity, representation, and mobility in relation to race, class, gender, sexuality, and power.”

    What is the dress code for Met Gala 2025?

    In conjunction with the Costume Institute’s “Superfine” exhibit, the dress code for the night is “Tailored for You,” which challenges attendees to put their bespoke spin on the spiffiness of dandyism.

    According to Vogue, the code pays tribute to the exhibit’s menswear focus and is “purposefully designed to provide guidance and invite creative interpretation.”

    Where to watch Met Gala 2025 red carpet

    For those wanting to check out the fierce fashion in real time, the official Met Gala livestream will be broadcast across Vogue’s digital platforms, including the magazine’s official YouTube channel.

    TV network and pop culture hub E! will also be airing a three-and-a-half hour red-carpet special, kicking off at 6 p.m. ET/PT, which will be co-hosted by Zanna Roberts Rassi, Maria Taylor, Elaine Welteroth, Yvonne Orji and fashion designer Christian Siriano.

    A separate livestream special, airing from 6:30-8 p.m. ET, will be available across E!’s social media platforms, E! Online and streaming service Peacock.

    What is 2025 Met’s Costume Institute exhibit?

    The exhibit will be open to the public from May 10 to Oct. 26, per the Met’s official website.

    The fashion expo, sponsored by Louis Vuitton, will interpret the style ethos of dandyism through a curated collection of garments and accessories, paintings, photographs and decorative arts from the 18th century to today.

    Moreover, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” is organized into 12 sections representing the characteristics embodying the dandy aesthetic, such as “Champion, Respectability, Heritage, Beauty and Cosmopolitanism.”

    Contributing: Anna Kaufman and Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY