Yahoo News The Met Gala will have its first-ever ‘meme correspondent’ - Saint Hoax
While the annual Met Gala is most recognisable for its high fashion red carpet, recent years have seen an uptick in viral meme-worthy moments as the biggest names gather in one place for the exclusive event.
With the return of the Met Gala, after the event was postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic, fans and viewers can expect to see even more humour injected into the gala and on social media, as this year’s will boast a “meme correspondent”.
The new position, which has been created by Instagram, the official sponsor of the 2021 Met Gala, will see social media influencer @SaintHoax turned into “Instagram’s first-ever Meme Correspondent on the Met Gala red carpet,” according to NBC News.
According to the outlet, the decision to have @SaintHoax, who has more than 2.9m Instagram followers, creating memes directly from the red carpet, is part of a conscious effort to give viewers more of a behind-the-scenes look at the event.
“For major cultural moments like the Met Gala, people dive into Instagram to connect with the action,” Ricky Sans, Instagram’s strategic partner manager for memes, told NBC News. “Now, more than ever, we’re seeing an entirely new generation of fashion gurus and culture-shapers emerge on the platform - they also happened to grow up on memes.”
The social media platform has also enlisted the help of other notable influencers to create memes out of the event, which will be shared using the hashtags #ReelMetIcons & #MemetheMet.
Ahead of the event, Saint Hoax has already begun sharing memes in anticipation of their work on the Met Gala red carpet, including one in which they expressed their excitement over the appointment.
“Two years ago I was meme-ing the Met Gala while sitting on my couch,” the otherwise-anonymous influencer wrote on their Instagram Stories. “Can’t believe we’re actually covering it live tonight. Thank you to the IG team who made this happen.”
As for how Saint Hoax is preparing for the event, which will take place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the influencer told NBC News that it is about anticipating the biggest names from tonight’s event before they emerge.
“With an event like this, it’s not really about preparing, more like anticipating who will steal the show and help create a moment that will be recognised and celebrated by internet culture,” they said. “I would say that my process includes a little bit of research but mostly focusing on going into a kind of meditative zone that helps me tune into what people will connect with. I try to channel a moment that has resonance, accessibility and illustrates what people are secretly thinking inside their heads.”
The influencer also noted that they will be looking to tap into “the sweet spot between politics, celebrity culture and social justice issues with a satiric angle” during Monday night’s event.
“I’m excited to see how all those come together on Monday night with a side dish of high fashion,” they added.
In 2019, everyone from Billy Porter to Lady Gaga saw themselves turned into meme-worthy content.
You can follow along with all the latest updates from the 2021 Met Gala here.
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