Every year the Met Gala presents an opportunity for us commoners to appreciate and/or judge the extravagant clothing options of famous people. This year the theme was “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” and boy did some of these celebs deliver. For example, Rihanna, SZA, Ariana Grande, and Chadwick Boseman all had amazing outfits.
There was one outfit, however, that stood above all the rest. Lena Waithe really took home the rainbow cake for this event. The out writer/showrunner came to the event in a suit with a floor-length rainbow flag cape from Carolina Herrera, and it was just as epic as one would think.
Heard y’all were looking for me? pic.twitter.com/1o49tCltGg
— Lena Waithe (@LenaWaithe) May 8, 2018
Twitter basically exploded. People were so happy to see Waithe wear her identity with pride at such a prestigious event.
lena waithe: actually god is gay
met gala: elaborate on that
lena waithe: no pic.twitter.com/5LWCbOpsvG— hawaiian shirt wan (@lgbtkenobi) May 7, 2018
Mood: After seeing @LenaWaithe on the carpet at the #MetGala2018 So proud & inspired!#WeAreSuperHeroes pic.twitter.com/uAZKLsIri4
— Karamo Brown (@KaramoBrown) May 8, 2018
In addition, people were extra excited that Waithe was showing off the rainbow flag at a Catholic themed event and took it as a sign of silent interrogation of the church. Given the amount of stories we hear of LGBTQ folks having bad experiences in religious households, this struck a chord with a lot of people.
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LENA WAITHE WEARING A PRIDE FLAG TO A CATHOLIC THEMED EVENT… A QUEER ICON #MetGala pic.twitter.com/UuE1Asl0sc
— Dylan (@scholaurship) May 7, 2018
People trying to claim that Lena Waithe was wearing a “heavenly body” or making allusions to the biblical “coat of many colors” at the #MetGala need to STAHP. It’s a symbol of LGBTQ pride, FULL STOP. pic.twitter.com/OPGOe29tB2
— Tom & Lorenzo (@tomandlorenzo) May 8, 2018
When asked about her outfit, Waithe said that the theme to her was about being yourself and a reminder that “you were made in God’s image.”Other users also wanted to make note of the brown stripe in Waithe’s flag, which displays a distinct acknowledgement of queer people of color.
“The theme to me is be yourself. You were made in God’s Image.” –@LenaWaithe pic.twitter.com/ZO2SvEq14M
— Complex (@Complex) May 7, 2018
Note the brown stripe. This is an explicitly black gay pride flag. https://t.co/2wK1jIWMCn
— Iron Spike (@Iron_Spike) May 8, 2018