Piers Morgan fumes at Met Gala's Catholic theme, asks: 'Would they dare do it with Islam or Judaism?'
The Met Gala 2018 that took place on May 7 saw some of the biggest stars dressed up in keeping with the religious theme — Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination. The event's theme saw celebrities pull out all the stops with their outfits that were designed with the Catholic theme in mind. Stars were dressed in Nativity headpieces, angel wings, crucifix-laden crown and even an outfit that channeled Pope-chic!
The Vatican not only gave permission for the theme, but also provided a whole host of clothes and other items for the accompanying exhibition. But religious conservatives accused the organisers of “religious appropriation” and slammed Met Gala for looking to religion as its source of sartorial inspiration.
And prominent among those who did not appreciate this over-the-top homage to holiness was British journalist and TV personality Piers Morgan. The man had a lot to say about this year's event.
In the article that he wrote for the Daily Mail, Morgan fumes: "Apparently it's absolutely fine to have a 'Catholic' theme, as we saw at last night's Met Gala. Christianity, it would seem, is fair game for a mocking fashion parade. Now I'm not a big one for 'cultural appropriation' fury."
"When Utah teenager Keziah Daum recently wore a Chinese style prom dress, I found the backlash that exploded against her utterly absurd given that nobody in China seemed to be remotely offended. But there was widespread rage towards her from PC-crazed liberals across America, and it's the inconsistent and hypocritical LACK of widespread rage from PC-crazed liberals across America about last night's Met Gala that ironically makes me angry."
"Why is it deemed unacceptable to wear a red Chinese dress to a prom, but acceptable to lampoon an entire religion at a celebrity gala?"
Morgan was brought up as a Catholic and he also spent his teenage years getting spiritual guidance from nuns, according to his article. The burning issue at the core of this new controversy is why are people disrespecting one religion just because they feel like they can have a cool new theme when they wouldn't dare to bring other religions into the mix?
Morgan's opening statements spoke about how Islamic and Jewish themes will never be used as Met Gala themes and for good reasons. Both, like how Catholicism is supposed to be, are very conservative.
The former Britain's Got Talent judge was appalled by this year's event and wrote: "To me, this year's Met Gala crossed a line and was openly, brazenly disrespectful. By doing so, it confirmed itself as an organisation of rank double standards, because everyone knows they'd have never dared do it to Islam or Judaism."
"Apparently – staggeringly — the Vatican gave permission for the Gala to be 'Catholic-themed' because it has already provided a variety of clothes and other items for an accompanying exhibition at the Met."
The confusion over this whole incident starts with Morgan asking the question: "What the hell was the Vatican thinking?"
It's true that there is a vast difference, as Morgan puts down in his article, between showing beautiful religious artefacts in a museum setting and then seeing those artefacts and other religious symbols on men and women who are only trying to outdo the other on the red carpet.
With both stars and their designers alike are trying to make the most provocative and religious dresses ever seen by the world, devout Catholics are probably chanting prayers to cleanse their spirits from having seen such blasphemous clothes.
With the Pope's permission or not, where is the right place to draw the line, Morgan wonders.
Singer and actress Rihanna wore a silver outfit with matching Mitre that was inspired by the Pope himself. She told Vogue in an interview: "It feels expensive, it would be a sin not to wear it!" People around the world have already started calling her the queen of the night with her bold choice in outfit.
The award for the worst dressed at this prestigious event, though, goes to Sarah Jessica Parker. Not only did she look like she was wearing a gown that was caught somewhere in between Valentine's Day and a jewelry store that houses only gold, her headpiece had the entire Nativity scene depicted in it! Like...what? Like any event there are hits and misses but Parker's outfit took the cake in this category.
In typical Piers Morgan fashion, he concluded his piece with:
"The bottom line is that the Met Gala would never even consider an Islamic or Jewish theme for its big night. The organisers know full well that if they did, they'd be closed down within hours of it finishing. They chose Catholicism, and Christianity, because they calculated that we wouldn't mind as much. Well, I do mind. And I think a lot of other Catholics and Christians will mind, too."
"Those celebrities who took part in this offensive fiasco need to ask themselves one question: 'Would I have gone dressed as a Muslim or a Jew if I were not Muslim or Jewish?' If the obvious answer is 'No, of course not' then they should all be ashamed of themselves."
What are your thoughts on this year's provocative Met Gala?