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Zendaya's Met Gala absence became a story all by itself

Zendaya did not appear at the Met Gala on May 4, and E! turned the explanation into a clean current-events item after Law Roach summed it up in two words: she was busy.

Zendaya attending Paris Fashion Week in 2025
Photo: Itumeleng Kingsley via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Why the absence mattered

Zendaya is one of the few stars whose past Met appearances are strong enough that skipping the event can still drive coverage. The audience was not reacting to nothing; it was reacting to a missing main character.

Why it helps the feed

Current-events coverage is not only about who showed up. Sometimes the stronger story is who did not, especially when the missing person already owns a piece of the event's recent history.