Unlike Timothée Chalamet, the longtime Knicks fan attended the fashion event of the year with wife Christine Taylor as his team took on the Philadelphia 76ers.

Ben Stiller declares he has to go to the Met Gala on Wednesday after skipping Knicks’ win Monday night

Unlike Timothée Chalamet, the longtime Knicks fan attended the fashion event of the year with wife Christine Taylor as his team took on the Philadelphia 76ers.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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May 5, 2026 11:46 a.m. ET

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Ben Stiller; Timothée Chalamet. Credit:

Jamie McCarthy/Getty; Al Bello/Getty

- Ben Stiller was at the Met Gala physically Monday night, but he was at the New York Knicks game spiritually.

- The longtime Knicks fan attended the fashion event, while Timothée Chalamet was courtside for the playoffs game, prompting the best reaction from Stiller.

- Stiller concluded, "I guess i have to go to Met ball Wednesday," following the Knicks' victory.

Ben Stiller may have been at the Met Gala, but his heart was at Madison Square Garden.

On Monday, May 4, the *Meet the Parents** *star and wife Christine Taylor attended the Met Gala, whose theme was "Fashion is Art." Stiller faced a major conflict that evening, choosing the fashion event of the year over the New York Knicks' first playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers. In support of the Knicks, he wore an orange tie and Taylor wore a dress that was Knicks blue.

Speaking with *Entertainment Tonight** *on the red carpet, Stiller declared, "Knicks in six," holding up six fingers. He added, "My heart is at MSG." In a fan video posted online, the actor said, "I wish I was there," in response to someone shouting, "Let's go Knicks."

Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor at the 2026 Met Gala in New York.

Kevin Mazur/MG26/Getty

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When asked by *Vogue *what the Met Gala meant to New Yorkers, Stiller quipped, "Well, you know, if you can't be at Madison Square Garden watching the Knicks win their first playoff game vs. the 76ers — Knicks in six — this is a great second choice.”**

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Timothée Chalamet, too, faced the Sophie's Choice of decisions, but he opted for courtside seats about 50 blocks south of the Met Museum at the basketball game while his girlfriend Kylie Jenner was at the gala. Stiller, monitoring X for the evening with playoff game updates, had the best reaction to seeing Bleacher Report's update that Chalamet was at MSG.

"Timothée Chalamet SKIPPED the Met Gala to watch the Knicks in Game 1 😭🔥," the update read. "He’s one of us 🙌." Stiller simply responded, "Wait, what?"**

Timothée Chalamet and Ben Stiller in May 2025.

Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty

Chalamet previously served as a co-chair for the Met Gala in 2021 for the "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" theme. However, in 2025, he also skipped the gala for a Knicks playoff game. In a December 2025 appearance on the* 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony* podcast, Chalamet said he was too "locked in" to the Knicks' season.

"That Knicks run last year, I think that was the most fun period of my life. Those four months, I’m not even kidding. Just the Garden being electric," he said at the time.**

Timothée Chalamet in May 2026.

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty

The *Dune** *star wasn't the only celebrity attending the playoff game last night. Tracy Morgan, Susie Essman, Edie Falco, Steve Schirripa, Jimmy Fallon, and Christopher Meloni sat courtside for the game, which the Knicks dominated with a blowout 137-98 victory.

Stiller must have concluded that by going to the Met Gala, he brought good mojo to the Knicks. "I guess i have to go to Met ball Wednesday," he posted on X. Game 2 between Knicks and Sixers will be at the Garden on Wednesday.

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