Lena Waithe’s Rainbow Cape Gloriously Subverted the Met Gala’s Catholicism Theme

Last night was the annual Met Gala in New York. Technically, the event is a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, but most of us just know it as the night when celebrities don their most over-the-top couture and try not to fall on the steps. The ball always centers on the theme of that year’s fashion exhibit at the institute. This year, that theme was “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & the Catholic Imagination,” and guests were encouraged to wear their “Sunday Best.”

Katy Perry wins for Most Literal Interpretation.

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Oh, wait, that title might actually go to Greta Gerwig’s amazing nun cosplay.

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There were plenty of other looks within the theme that we love. Like Zendaya’s Joan of Arc-inspired look.

Or Chadwick Boseman, who brought major Catholic drama to an event where most men still just wear variations on a regular tuxedo.

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Some veered outside of the Catholicism theme but kept the religious aspect, like with Lynda Carter’s Hebrew crown.

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Donald Glover’s tux sported an Eye of Providence on the back, the symbol of god’s watchful eye/Illuminati conspiracy theories.

Basically, there was a lot to love.

But not everyone embraced the Catholicism theme–which isn’t mandatory anyway, though it seems to be heavily encouraged, and definitely the norm. There were plenty of gowns and tuxes with no hint of religion. Louis Vuitton’s entire line at the event just plain ignored the theme. Of those who ignored the “Heavenly Bodies” dress code, I haven’t seen any statements regarding their reasons for doing so, although it’s not hard to imagine why some in the fashion industry might find themselves at odds with the theme.

Pope Francis may have earned himself the title of “Cool Pope” for his relatively progressive views on homosexuality. But when we say “relatively” progressive for the Catholic church, we have to remember where that bar is set. Pope Francis still holds especially regressive views when it comes to the T regarding LGBT Catholics. Like, really regressive. And, of course, we can’t ignore the Catholic Church as an institution with a long history of homosexual oppression, both in the macro sense, as well as the micro of individual experiences.

In a great piece over on them.us, John Paul Brammer writes about growing up gay in Catholic school, and the contradictions that rise to the surface when church and fashion mix without actually acknowledging the inherent conflicts.

Queer Catholics exist. I know many of them. There are many things about Catholicism I find beautiful, beyond the imagery. But its historic wrongs against LGBTQ+ people ought not be ignored on a highly public night when it stands atop the innovations of queer people to rebrand itself to a younger audience. Some aspects of the Church can be beautiful, as the “Heavenly Bodies” exhibit illustrates, while others can be oppressive. Many contradictory things can be true at once.

Enter Lena Waithe, who, upon being told the theme of the evening is Catholic couture, responded with a big, prideful NO THANK YOU.

Her “epic moment of defiance” came in the form of a long, elegant rainbow cape (plus black and brown). On the red carpet, she said that the cape was a nod to her Emmys acceptance speech, in which she urged anyone who feels marginalized to put on their “superhero cape” and “conquer the world.” This cape isn’t imaginary, she says, it’s real, “and I want everybody to know that you can be whoever you are and be completely proud and be doing it.”

Here’s what I know to be true: Lena Waithe may have subverted the Catholicism theme, but she hit a bullseye when it comes to “Heavenly Bodies.”

(image: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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