English singer-songwriter Sam Smith attended the 2026 Met Gala on Monday. However, many people mistook them for NFL star Travis Kelce, best known as Taylor Swift’s fiancé.
A clip, originally shared by The Hollywood Reporter, has gone viral, showing Sam Smith climbing the stairs on their way to the red carpet. They wore an all-black tailored coat and a custom headpiece designed by their boyfriend and designer Christian Cowan, who also accompanied Smith to the event.
But netizens misidentified Sam for Travis, with some taking it seriously and others turning it into a joke. For instance, NFL veteran Will Compton reshared the 30-second clip and wrote:
“Everyone really had my dumba** believing this was Travis Kelce goofing around at the Met Gala for a second.”
One user commented:
“White on white crime.”
Several others weighed in with wild reactions.
“Bro, how long did it take you to realize it wasn’t?” a fan asked.
“Haha yeah, seems like some sh*t he would do though ngl,” another fan quipped.
“Wait, that’s not Travis Swift?” an individual sarcastically wrote.
“Just Sam Smith being Sam Smith… but if it would have been Kelce… respect,” a user wrote.
Here are some more hilarious remarks from X.
“Travis Kelce just wears anything Taylor puts him in these days, huh?” a netizen asked.
“Travis Kelce arriving for the dress rehearsal of his wedding with Taylor Swift,” wrote another.
“Travis Kelce looks absurd,” a person chimed in.
It is noteworthy that Sam Smith is a Met Gala veteran. Meanwhile, Travis Kelce has never attended the event.
Exploring Sam Smith’s 2026 Met Gala look
Sam Smith documented their look on Instagram ahead of the Met Gala appearance. It was captioned:
“‘ART IS NOT A THING; IT IS A WAY.’ – Erté.”
Christian Cowan was credited for the look, necklace, and hat design (along with Stephen Jones Millinery). The earrings were from Cartier and the photographer was Greg Bailey.
According to Billboard, Sam’s attire went hand-in-hand with this year’s dress code, “Fashion is Art,” which in turn is based on the upcoming “Costume Art” exhibit at the MET.
The singer’s coat was embellished with over 23,000 crystals hand-woven by 45 artisans over 800 hours per week. The tailoring was 1920s-inspired with more than 25,000 beads. The look was wrapped up with a triple-layer feather headgear. Cowan, too, wore a matching black couture.
2026 marked Sam Smith and their partner’s third consecutive Met Gala appearance, ever since they began dating in 2023.
Travis and Taylor also started their romance around the same time and got engaged last year. However, they are yet to make their Met Gala debut as a couple. In 2025, they reportedly declined an invitation due to their respective busy schedules, according to TMZ.
Meanwhile, Swift has attended the Met Gala six times in the past, with her last appearance in 2016. Back then, she was the co-host and co-chair for the “Manus × Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” themed event and donned a custom-made Louis Vuitton metallic snakeskin minidress, bleach-blonde hair, and cutout gladiator boots.
Earlier this year (in March), the power couple made their red carpet debut at the iHeart Music Awards. Taylor was last seen in public in New York on April 27, while Travis appeared in the latest episode of his New Heights podcast with co-host and brother Jason Kelce and their newest guest, Blake Griffin.
Edited by Pallavi K