The Real Reason You'll Never Catch Jennifer Aniston At The Met Gala

Fashion's most important evening of the year is undoubtedly the Met Gala. The intimate gathering of about 500 of the world's most celebrated A-listers, including the alluring Anna Wintour as host, takes place on the first Monday in May every year in Manhattan for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. There are strict rules that every attendee must follow, provided they receive an invitation to the highly coveted event. The gala is rooted in exclusivity, so there are a limited spots on the guest list. And as desperately as some celebrities — like Lara Trump — want to be invited, others simply couldn't care less. Jennifer Aniston is one of them.

The "Friends" alum explained to Glamour why she checks "no" on her RSVP every year. "It overwhelms me," Aniston confessed. "It's the getting ready, the putting on the dress. I'm a 'jeans and flip-flops and tank top' kind of girl." That's not to say she doesn't love to get gussied up, but Aniston notes that the formalities of the gala make her "nervous." Her other reason for skipping the event is that the actor is afraid of saying something that will come back to haunt her. "I even get a little anxious about public speaking," she said, adding, "especially over the years of having your words twisted and taken out of context."

Jennifer Aniston isn't so in love with the spotlight. In a 2021 interview with InStyle, she referred to her press tour for "The Morning Show" as "the dog-and-pony show." The media routine feels inauthentic in her eyes, especially when posing for a red-carpet photo. "I don't know how to stand on a red carpet, but you do the best you can," she candidly revealed. However, the Hollywood legend finds inspiration from her peers. Aniston labeled namesake celebrity Jennifer Lopez as a "master" of red-carpet smolders. "I want to know what gives her the look like she's about to be seething," the "We're The Millers" star mused. "It's amazing. She's almost stuck getting mad at somebody, but she's just so gorgeous."

In her Glamour interview, Aniston criticized the red-carpet press for coming at Hollywood figures like some sort of "sport," the same way she described her own media scrutiny in an August 2025 Vanity Fair profile. It is part of the reason why she keeps away from soirées like the Met Gala. The truth is, Aniston tries to maintain peace in her home, away from the cameras and microphones. Noting her use of crystals, she told the magazine, "I've basically incorporated all of the healing modalities in order to create a calm environment in the chaos of the wonderful industry and the world at large."