Met Gala cockroach crashes red carpet: Squashed but not forgotten

He was snug as a bug on the red carpet.

Amid a sea of the world’s most glamorous A-list celebs, it was a lowly vermin that stole the show: A cockroach undoubtedly solidified its spot atop the pantheon of famous New York Pests after it was spotted scurrying down the aisle at this year’s Met Gala.

A Twitter video, posted by Variety, showed the uninvited pest darting across the red carpet after circumventing security at the annual fashion bash, where tickets cost a staggering $50,000 per head.

Celebrity onlookers could be heard gasping in delight as the bug — sporting its trademark brown and white tux — scuttled up the stairs of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

At one point, Veteran Getty Images photographer Kevin Mazur snapped pics of the red carpet bomber, before pretending to stomp on it, per the Hollywood Reporter.

Unfortunately, the bug’s dreams of hob-knobbing with the fashion elite class were not to be: The uninvited pest was unceremoniously stomped to death for real a few moments later by an unidentified party, as reported by Variety.

“It is with deep sadness that we must report the #MetGala cockroach was stepped on,” they wrote in a tweet. They also included a pic of the bug on the red rug with the caption: “Met Gala Cockroach 2023-2023.”

But the Met Gala Cockroach is flat but not forgotten with scores of fans taking to Twitter to mourn the now-mythical insect’s passing.

“Now we know. RIP cockroach. You were beautiful until you weren’t,” wrote one crestfallen viewer.

“So upset about the met gala cockroach. he was a star for only a few short hours rip little dude,” mourned a third.

“This was no accident and I want someone held accountable,” wrote one supporter in mock-outrage.

Meanwhile, some jokesters took the opportunity to poke fun at famous past Met Gala guests. “Damn I thought Elon wasn’t coming this year,” quipped one in reference to the Space X box, who attended the event with his mother Maye Musk in 2022.

Another sniped, “Wait is that one of the kardashian / Jenner sisters?”

One Twitter poster summed the cockroach cameo up best, writing: “Imagine a literal cockroach getting more excited screams & photos taken of than an actual celebrity at the MET gala. 2023 is such a fever dream. RIP.”

Indeed, bug undoubtedly stole the show at the event, which raises funds for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, and has been presided over by Anna Wintour since 1995.

Other notable celeb appearances included “The Last of Us” star Pedro Pascal in short shorts and supermodel Giselle Bündchen flying solo in a feathered cape.

Meanwhile, Jared Leto famously cosplayed as Choupette, the cat of the late and great fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld to whom this year’s show was dedicated.

With its legendary appearance, the Met Gala cockroach also undoubtedly scuttled its way onto the Mount Rushmore of iconic New York Pests, which include the iconic pizza rat, Nutella squirrel and of course, the legendary roach-smoking roach.

Although, in the realm of invertebrate gate-crashers, the insect is perhaps still dwarfed by the spider that hitched a ride on the coffin during Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral last year.