Jason Derulo stair fall meme returns as the 2026 Met Gala takes over social feeds

As the 2026 Met Gala red carpet got underway Monday night, social feeds revived the long-running Jason Derulo stair-fall meme, even though the singer never fell at the Met Gala and has said he never attended the event.

The joke dates to a 2015 tweet that paired Derulo’s name with a photo from the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, not New York’s Met steps.

Fact-check: Derulo addressed the rumor years ago in a YouTube video, saying:

“I was actually in rehearsals in L.A. The Met Gala was actually in New York…and I just thought it was hilarious.”

Users on X are posting the meme and saying some weird things. Check a screenshot here:

His Instagram account pushed back again as the meme resurfaced for 2026, posting, “Jason Derulo didn't fall down the stairs at the Met Gala,” a reminder that the joke is built on a false caption rather than an actual Met Gala incident.

The image behind the meme comes from a separate red-carpet mishap at Cannes, where an unnamed man tumbled down stairs during a 2011 festival security scrum.

Derulo’s name was attached later, and the false attribution has been recycled every year when the Met Gala trend cycle returns.

What keeps the meme alive is its simplicity. It is easy to recognize, easy to repost and easy for new viewers to mistake as current.

That has made it one of the Met Gala’s most durable internet jokes, even as the real event keeps moving on without Derulo ever having been part of the story.