Cardi B explains why she referred to Met Gala gown designer as ‘Asian’ instead of by his name

Cardi B has clarified why she referred to the designer of her Met Gala gown as “Asian,” rather than calling him by his name.

The 31-year-old rapper was one of the many stars who walked the red carpet at the 2024 Met Gala in New York City on Monday. During an interview at the fashion extravaganza with Emma Chamberlain, Cardi B opened up about her voluminous black dress, which she said was made by “an amazing designer” who was “Asian and everything”.

Following the event, she was hit with immense criticism for referring to the designer, Sensen Lii, as Asian, withVogue‘s former managing director Gilbert Cheah writing on Instagram that Cardi B should have “remembered” Lii’s name. The “Bodak Yellow” singer then went to her Instagram Story to defend herself and respond to Cheah, acknowledging why she felt so nervous on the red carpet.

“First and first, when I was on the red carpet, I was very scared because the dress was supposed to be on a little podium, and I’ve been practicing how to pose on the podium,” she explained in the since-expired Instagram Story, shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. “But on the carpet, I wasn’t allowed to use the podium. So I had a lot of things in my mind, and I was being rushed to the front of the line.”

She then clarified that when she was being interviewed by Chamberlain, she “forgot how to pronounce” Lii’s name, since it’s “a little bit complicated”. After noting that her “mind was just racing” on the red carpet, she once again responded to Cheah by explaining why she referred to her designer as Asian.

“I think he got offended because I said Asian designer,” she explained. “I said ‘Asian designer’ because I knew the designer was Asian, but I wasn’t sure what nationality the designer was. And I feel like it’s offensive if I was like: ‘Oh some Chinese designer, or some Korean designer.’”

Cardi B reiterated that she didn’t want to get someone’s “nationality mixed up,” which was why she called Lii an “Asian designer”. She critcised Cheah for “being kind of shady,” while noting that her “designer and stylist worked really hard” to create a Met Gala dress that matched the theme, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.”

She then claimed that Cheah’s criticism was not hurting her, but he was “actually offending the people behind the scenes,” who spent so much time working on her dress. She concluded by hitting back at all the fans who’ve taken issue with her style on social media.

“For you guys to talk about: ‘Oh she doesn’t know this, she doesn’t know fashion… she’s not going to get invited this year,’ Baby, I’m Cardi B,” she said.

In his comment on the Instagram Reel of Cardi B, Cheah called her out for not mentioning Lii by name. He also alleged that her look didn’t match the theme of the gala.

“For the record and recognition, and no thanks to Cardi B, the designer of her gown is Sensen Lii who’s Chinese. The gown took two months to make. I personally think it’s boring and not even on theme but she chose it and should have at least remembered his name and not just that he’s ‘Asian,’” wrote Cheah in the comment, which has been reshared on X.

Following the Met Gala on Monday, Cardi B took to her social media accounts to share her gratitude for the designer who made her dress.

“I have to give another thank you to Windowsen by Sensen Lii!!! I chose you because of your amazing talent and you came through really making this Met Gala a night to remember,” she wrote on X, along with a video of herself in the black gown and matching headpiece.

While on the red carpet, Cardi B’s outfit took up quite a bit of space, with her voluminous dress spread by nine men. She paired the off-the-shoulder look with a matching headpiece, green statement necklace, and silver earrings.

When she initially walked into the Met Gala, the singer had seven people holding her dress. She also discussed how she felt about having the help during her interview with Chamberlain. “It makes me feel like: ‘Yeah, I’m that b****, and you b****es could never,’” she quipped, at the event. “Before y’all consider comparing yourself to me, b****.”

The Independent has contacted Cheah, Lii and a representative for Cardi B for comment.