Blake Lively made a surprise appearance at the 2026 Met Gala on Monday, showing up on the red carpet in a billowing archival pastel gown from Versace mere hours after settling herlawsuit with Justin Baldoni.

The timing of Blake’s appearance led to a lot of false rumors claiming she decided to attend the Met Gala at the last second, or even paid out of pocket to go. Neither of which is true!

Multiple sources cleared things up, including TMZ, who spoke to a “Blake insider” who told them that her appearance on the red carpet was planned for “weeks” and that she was an “invited guest by Anna Wintour.” The outlet added that Blake “was going to the Met—no matter if there was a settlement, or the trial was still on the horizon.”

Meanwhile, DeuxMoi also confirmed that Blake was invited by Anna Wintour directly, weeks in advance of the Met Gala, and that she sat at her table during dinner.

FYI, Blake chatted to Vogue about her look and said “It’s an honor to attend with Donatella, one that I don’t take lightly. I haven’t been since giving birth to my fourth child. Every year I am a different version of myself than the last, so to be able to stand here in the version of myself that I am today—and all the experiences I’ve had—and strength and confidence is important to me. So is staying home on the couch with my kids in pajamas. Getting to do both is an honor I will never stop being grateful for.”