Katy Perry & Dua Lipa AI Fakes Took the Fun Out of Met Gala 2024

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AI-generated images of Katy Perry, Rihanna, and Dua Lipa made their rounds on X (formerly Twitter) ahead of the Met Gala 2024, leaving many concerned with the future of fake images circling the web.

On Monday, May 6, photos began pouring in online from fashion's biggest night of the year in New York City. While the Met Gala is never short on some of the biggest A-listers in Hollywood, multiple fake images were still duping people online. One image in particular of Katy Perry was viewed more than 10.6 million times, had nearly 300,000 likes, and over 66,000 reposts. The photo showed Perry wearing an AI-generated long floral gown on a previous year's Metropolitan Museum of Art steps.

X has since added a community note that read, “This photo is fake, created in AI. The carpet in the image is from 2018. There are still no images of singer Katy Perry at the event nor confirmation that she will appear.”

The photo of Perry was so widespread that many people even joked about how far it went. “Katy Perry at home, lying on the couch, watching Peppa Pig with [her daughter] while looking at AI edits of herself at #MetGala.” Another user wrote how the AI photos got “more likes and retweets than actual pictures of celebs at the Met Gala.” Perry herself later posted that she was busy making music in the studio.

“This AI generated pic of Katy Perry at the #MetGala is already going viral with people believing it, to say society is in trouble would be a nice lil understatement,” user Fiona Daly wrote.

Another AI-generated photo that picked up a lot of traffic on X was of Rihanna, dressed in a woodland-themed gown with a dramatic circular silhouette. The post has more than 96,000 likes and 17,000 reposts as of the publishing of this article. While Rihanna is known for her viral-worthy Met Gala looks, this one was unfortunately not her. In fact, neither Rihanna nor Perry attended this year's gala.

Before Dua Lipa actually showed up at the Met Gala, photos circulated of the pop singer wearing bangs and a bow, along with a corseted gown. Unlike Rihanna or Katy Perry's fake images, these appeared to be in a separate location, making them look even more real.

Lipa later arrived on the red carpet wearing a feather cape and a low-rise sheer skirt from Marc Jacobs.

These fakes may seem innocuous, but the more we get used to AI-generated imagery, the less we're able to spot what's real — the prevalence and harm of deepfakes, for example, is well-documented. These viral Met Gala photos prove we're not ready for what's ahead in AI imagery, and it might be to our own detriment.

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue