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In a surprising twist to the Met Gala’s fashion spectacle, fans were taken aback as images purportedly showcasing Rihanna and Katy Perry’s extravagant outfits went viral, only to later be uncovered as creations of artificial intelligence.

The event, celebrated for its high-profile attendees and avant-garde dress code, this year themed “The Garden of Time,” became the unwitting backdrop for this digital artifice.

Contrary to the flood of photographs suggesting otherwise, neither Rihanna nor Ms. Perry graced the Met Gala with their presence this year. Rihanna was absent due to health reasons, confirmed to be the flu by a close source to People magazine. Ms. Perry, who last appeared in 2022, also did not attend.

The AI-generated images that stirred the internet depicted Rihanna in a cream-colored gown that blended with a fantastical forest theme. The dress featured a skirt adorned with grass and flowers, while its train extended into a patchwork of pink flora. The ensemble was topped with a mushroom-shaped jacket, complete with tree branches and perching birds.

Ms. Perry’s imagined attire was no less extraordinary. One of the virtual ensembles presented her in a voluminous ballgown that evoked the rich, diverse floor of a forest, edged with what appeared to be grass or moss and embellished with flowers. Butterflies seemed to ascend the gown’s tulle to meet a dreamlike corset.

Social media immediately buzzed. “Today’s highlight: seeing 200,000+ people like an AI photo of Katy Perry thinking she’s at the Met Gala,” one X user posted.

X eventually tacked disclaimers onto the posts. One said: “Readers added context they thought people might want to know. This is either AI or digitally altered. Rihanna has, at the time of this post, not yet arrived at the Met Gala.”

A similar message was attached to a post about Ms. Perry, saying, “This image is fake. Katy Perry was not at the 2024 Met Gala and this image was most likely created using Artificial Intelligence (AI).”