The Commentary Magazine Podcast Meet the Met
10 snips
May 5, 2026 They shift from tense Iran developments to a deep dive on last night’s Met Gala and the craze for intentional ugliness as fashion. Conversation covers inflated celebrity culture, influencers blurring ads and authenticity, and how fame has been flattened by new media economics. There is also a recommendation for Jonathan Moore’s The Night Market.
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Met Gala Turned To Grotesque Attention Grabs
- The Met Gala shifted from showcasing aspirational beauty to staging deliberate grotesquerie as a grab for attention.
- John Podhoretz points to dozens of shock outfits and celebrities leaning into ugliness to force visibility amid celebrity overproduction.
Blocked By Met Gala Street Closures
- John Podhoretz recounts being stuck when Fifth Avenue and an 86th Street transverse were closed for Met Gala crowd control.
- He describes walking through Central Park, arriving late and furious that city streets closed for celebrities.
Scarcity Collapse Flattened Celebrity Value
- The gatekeeping that made scarcity-driven celebrity valuable has collapsed, flattening fame into mass-produced visibility.
- Podhoretz argues lab-grown celebrity (influencers, nepo babies) devalues star power the way lab-grown diamonds devalue mined ones.
