Bella Hadid injected some sarcasm into the situation as she fired back at critics speculating about the reason behind her absence from the 2021 Met Gala.
Following online rumors that she did not attend the star-studded event because she allegedly did not meet the Metropolitan Museum of Art's requirement of being vaccinated against COVID-19—in accordance with New York City's mandate, the 24-year-old supermodel shared on her Instagram Story a photo of herself appearing to prepare to receive a vaccine. The pic was posted on Wednesday, Sept. 15, two days after the Met Gala, and was dated Aug. 6.
"For anyone concerned," Bella captioned the image, adding a black heart emoji.
The star, one of the most popular supermodels in the world, made no further comment. Bella has attended the Met Gala every year between 2015 and 2019. The event was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Bella's sister and fellow supermodel Gigi Hadid did attend the recent Met Gala on Monday, marking her sixth time there.
One celebrity who did opt to skip the Met Gala and is unvaccinated against COVID-19 is Nicki Minaj.
"They want you to get vaccinated for the Met," the rapper tweeted on Monday afternoon, a few hours before the event. "if I get vaccinated it won't [be] for the Met. It'll be once I feel I've done enough research. I'm working on that now. In the meantime my loves, be safe. Wear the mask with 2 strings that grips your head & face. Not that loose one."
In addition to Nicki, who has attended the Met Gala five times, other celebs who were anticipated to show up at this year's event but didn't include Blake Lively, Billy Porter and Sarah Jessica Parker.