The Met Gala arrival schedule is designed with military precision, so people arrive within a certain time frame and have time alone on the red carpet. However, this year actor Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, threw a spanner in the works by arriving early.
Drive, Don’t Walk
In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Matt Damon waxed lyrical about his faux pas with his unexpected arrival at the 2024 Met Gala. Damon recalled that his arrival had been set up between 6:23 and 6:30 on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. This year, it was hosted by Jennifer Lopez and Chris Hemsworth, who are both friends of the Bourne Identity star.
Damon and his wife booked a room at a hotel that was within walking distance of the event, so they decided to walk over. This was frowned upon by the two hosts, and they were told to get a limo to arrive in. Upon hearing this, Matt Damon and his wife hired a limo at 5:00 and told the driver to take the long route to the event so that they’d arrive during their time slot. However, this backfired on the couple.
A Surprise Police Escort
While they were about to get in their car, they were spotted by a police officer who instantly recognized Matt Damon, and proceeded to give them a police escort, which seemed surreal to the actor at the time. He said that not even in the movies could it have been choreographed so well. The two ended up arriving at 5:03, which left them there a full hour before they were supposed to arrive.
Because of their early arrival, which shocked the organizers, they were left to hang around for over an hour until their slot came up. They were the only people present at the exhibit, not including the waiting staff and bartenders who looked bewildered at what was going on.