Met Gala A-lister’s unrecognisable look leaves fans divided over hidden meaning
Landing on the red carpet of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art last night, Bad Bunny delivered one of the Met Gala's most dramatic transformations.
The theme of this year's star-studded soiree was 'Costume Art', for which attendees were invited to explore the 'centrality of the dressed body' through depictions of the human form.
While many A-list guests opted to wear 'naked', sheer get-ups to celebrate the body as a blank canvas, Bunny - real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio - seems to have interpreted this year's theme a little differently.
The Puerto Rican rapper, 32, wore a full face of prosthetics and a wiry white hairpiece, creating a hyper-realistic older version of himself.
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The prosthetics were created by renowned special effects artist Mike Marino, who is also responsible for creating some of Heidi Klum's viral Halloween costumes over the years.
According to insiders, Benito's look comprised a carefully thought-through collection of wrinkles, sunspots and sagging contours, which spanned across his neck and hands, as well as his face.
Speaking to the press on the red carpet, he joked that the look 'took 53 years' to perfect.
He also paired his aged appearance with a custom all-black pussy-bow tuxedo that he'd designed as part of his recent collaboration with Zara.
The reasoning behind Benito's unexpected take on this year's theme has sparked confusion amongst a number of online onlookers, however, many of whom claim they failed to recognise him at first.
"Hol’up.. who this??" one X user asked.
After another revealed it's the Latin music producer, another responded: "WHAT?? I THOUGHT YALL MADE A TYPO BUT THAT'S ACTUALLY HIM???"
A third confessed: "I was actually convinced this was some old hag I hadn't heard of, this is very convincing."
"And the crowd is…confused…but Benito slayyy," a fourth continued.
Some spectators interpreted the musician's outfit as a depiction of a very famous Central American painter.
"He is representing artist painter Francisco Oller," one user suggested, noting: "El Velorio is considered today to be his masterpiece, and the foremost example of Impressionism in Latin America."
As explained, El Velorio is one of the most important paintings by Oller, created around 1893, showing a traditional Puerto Rican funeral for a child, known as a baquiné.
Portraits of 19th-century painter Oller show the artist in his older years, donning a bushy beard and deep wrinkles.
Agreeing that this is the true meaning of Benito's look, another X user agreed: "Finally a smart comment about his outfit."
Others, however, believe the design served as a tribute to the 'ageing body', one of the themes that features in the Met's Costume Institute’s 2026 exhibition.
"THE ART OF GROWING OLD OMG," one fan noted.
And by the sounds of it, they're bang on. Marino told Vogue on the night that he and Benito had collaborated to discuss 'how the passage of time may actually affect [Bad Bunny’s] face, neck, and hands'.
Rhianna Benson