Fact Check

Jason Derulo Didn't Fall Down Met Gala Stairs

He didn't fall down last year or the year before, either.

Published Sept. 14, 2021

 (Instagram)
Image Via Instagram
Claim:
A photograph shows singer Jason Derulo falling down the stairs at the Met Gala.

Every year, actors, musicians, fashion models, politicians and celebrities put on their fanciest attire to attend the Met Gala, an annual event to raise money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. And every year for the last several, an image has circulated on social media that supposedly shows singer Jason Derulo falling down the Met Gala stairs.  

The man in white in this picture is not Derulo, and this photograph was not taken at the Met Gala.  This photograph dates back to 2011, and shows a guest attempting (and failing) to perform a stunt at the Cannes Film Festival in France. The caption of this photograph from Getty Images reads:

"A security man grabs a guest who tired to perform a stunt on the red carpet before a ceremony in honor of French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and the screening of 'The Beaver' presented out of competiton [sic] at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2011 in Cannes." 

Photographer Anne-Christine Poujoulat captured this moment in a series of images. This person's face is visible in the first few photos and it is clearly not Derulo:

Embed from Getty Images

According to Know Your Meme, the claim that this image showed Derulo falling down at the Met Gala appears to have started in 2015 with a tweet from @dashuasofjack. The claim went viral, and this image has popped up during several Met Galas since then.  In 2015, Derulo gave his reaction to the rumor, saying that he thought it was hilarious, but that it also had his grandmother worried:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5NXcGdnj6g
 

Sources

"A Security Man Grabs a Guest Who Tired to Perform a Stunt on the Red..." Getty Images, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/security-man-grabs-a-guest-who-tired-to-perform-a-stunt-on-news-photo/114948689. Accessed 14 Sept. 2021.

ADMIN, NAMA. Epic "Fall" on the Red Carpet - Find out who this is!!! https://celebritygossipmomentscandal.blogspot.com/2011/05/epic-on-red-carpet-find-out-who-this-is.html. Accessed 14 Sept. 2021.

Golding, Shenequa, and Shenequa Golding. "Meanwhile, Clean-up In Aisle Nine: Jason Derulo Wasn't The Guy Who Fell At The Met Gala." VIBE.Com, 5 May 2015, https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/jason-derulo-met-gala-2015-345823/.

"Jason Derulo Has Fallen Down The Stairs." Know Your Meme, https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/jason-derulo-has-fallen-down-the-stairs. Accessed 14 Sept. 2021.

Nast, Condé. "Met Gala 2021 Red Carpet: See All Celebrity Dresses, Outfits & Looks Here." Vogue, 13 Sept. 2021, https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/met-gala-2021-red-carpet-live-celebrity-fashion.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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