Jared Leto’s typical approach to the Met Gala? (1) Showing up dressed as giant furry cat, and (2) arriving with an exact replica of his own head. So, obviously, expectations for Met Gala 2024 were high. But sadly, Jared didn’t attend this year’s red carpet—though he does have a solid reason why!

Jared actually confirmed that he’d be skipping the event back in the beginning of April, telling E! News on the red carpet that he’ll be busy on tour with Thirty Seconds to Mars. “You know, I’m not gonna be there this year, but I’ll be watching from afar,” he explained. “I will be there in spirit with my head and my cat wishing everybody a beautiful night and hope they raise a lot of money.”

Jared also added re: touring, “It’s incredible, it’s literally the best thing ever, and the shows, I don’t know, there’s something special happening out there. We’ve been doing this for a long time now, and the audiences have just grown, so much passion at the shows, a lot of excitement. It’s just crazy, the shows have been crazy.”

youtubeView full post on Youtube

Welp, the good news is we’ll always have these pics?

us entertainment fashion metgala celebrity museum
ANGELA WEISS//Getty Images
the 2019 met gala celebrating camp notes on fashion arrivals
Dimitrios Kambouris//Getty Images

Also cute side note: Jared described his reason for dressing up like Karl Lagerfeld’s cat at the Met last year, saying, “I knew Karl. He was always such a kind man to me. I could just imagine him looking down with a big smile on his face, seeing Choupette in all his glory.”