While walking the red carpet, she was approached by Vogue, and during the interview, when she was asked for the designer’s name, she drew a blank, referring to Sensen Lii as an “amazing designer” and went on to identify him by his race, only.
The dress was massive, so much so that it took up the entire landing of the carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It required the assistance of nine people to help her get up the stairs and once up, seven people to lift and carry the bottom half of it as she made her way down the red carpet. Sensen spent two months working on the piece.
Naturally, people have had a lot to say about the incident, including former Vogue editor, Gilbert Cheah. When Vogue posted a reel of Cardi B walking the red carpet, he left a comment slamming her distasteful decorum.
Despite most of the Cardi content I write about here on LG being overwhelmingly in support of her, there is simply no other way to interpret this situation other than unprofessional, embarrassing and racist.
There are a few issues with how Cardi B handled this situation. The first was not ensuring she had the name of the designer before walking the red carpet. The second was deferring to his race, which, for the record, was irrelevant and lastly, the lack of accountability she took in the days that followed.
In a now-expired Instagram video she shared where she tried to provide context and reasoning for forgetting Sensen’s name, she described how she was feeling prior to the red carpet, saying:
“I was being rushed to the front of the line, so when I was getting interviewed, I kind of forgot to pronounce the designer’s name, because his name is a little bit complicated"
To be clear, I don’t think it’s racist to acknowledge that yes, some names are harder to pronounce than others. And for someone whose legal name is Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar, not one many people who aren’t familiar with traditional Dominican names would describe as “easy”, she should know better than most that names can be complex.
However, I do think it’s racist to chalk up not knowing or remembering a name to a person’s ethnicity. So not only is her statement extremely problematic, because it assumes a very American, Eurocentric measure on what makes a name “complicated” or not, but it’s also just categorically incorrect because Sensen Lii’s name is just not complicated. In fact, I don’t know how much simpler it could be. It’s three whole syllables, two of which are the same.
The other thing that I find disturbing is that in the days leading up to the Met Gala, Cardi B had been documenting the preparation for it on social media. She shared several video documenting the dress selection process, asking fans for their input and opinions and even addressing questions after the event. It makes it extra off-putting because it’s clear that she wasn’t just placed in the dress the day of the Met Gala. She was quite thoroughly involved in the process, even claiming that she chose Sensen as her designer because of his talent. Yet, at the most crucial moment possible, she forgot his name.
In forgetting his name, she deferred to his race, instead. And that, much like claiming his name was “complicated”, is also problematic. Despite her explanation that she used “Asian” to describe him because she wasn’t certain of his ethnicity, it was an irrelevant mention that now minimizes his identity to his ethnicity, rather than his talent or any of the other things that make him up as a human being.
“I don’t want to get someone’s nationality mixed up,” she said in the video.
So you’ve forgotten the designer’s name but not wanting to get someone’s nationality mixed up is where we draw the line? Got it. Part of the reason this is harmful is because it implies that identifying someone by their race is a substitute for identifying someone by their name. And with a lot of cultures attaching a great deal of symbolism and meaning in the naming process, it’s not the best idea to be perpetuating.
Perhaps most frustrating of all though, was her conduct throughout the rest of the week, which included a lame attempt at giving him credit on social media two full days after the incident, and her whack ass Instagram story where she defended herself for the snafu, saying people on social media were “fake gagging”, before whipping out a Chanel bag and letting fans know she was “going shopping”.
My frustration also lies with her gaggle of stans for chalking up the negative reaction online to people being “Little Haters”, when really, people just want accountability on her part, and well-deserved visibility and credit for Sensen.
Recently, I wrote about the privilege of white celebrities who have complained about being asked about fashion on red carpets. And while those complaints are a lot less likely to be made at a forum like the Met Gala, where fashion is very much the focus, the point I was making was about the importance of equity in access and inclusion on coveted spaces like the red carpet.
To have made that point about how much so many Black and afro-Latina celebrities enjoy and revel in talking about fashion, only for this incident to happen just three days later is disappointing, because in this case, naming her designer was very much part of Cardi B’s job that night as a celebrity on the red carpet at the Met Gala – and not only did she fail to do that, but she was tasteless and tacky as f-ck about it in the process, and even after it.
One thing I’ve always touted about Cardi B is her humility and the fact that she has never shied away from openly discussing her humble beginnings. Yet, in her video, she addressed whether this incident would impact future invitations to the Met Gala, boasting, “Baby, I’m Cardi B.” Yuck. Rather than just offer up a sincere apology, she’s done everything so far to avoid accountability. It’s not like this year’s incident will be enough to keep her off the Met Gala red carpet in the years to come, but there’s no telling what the cumulative effect of being an absolute dickhead in this moment will be.