Wait, Who Was the Masked Man With Kim Kardashian at the 2021 Met Gala?

Kim Kardashian set the internet ablaze with her face-covering Balenciaga outfit at the 2021 Met gala. But did you notice she was accompanied by a man on the carpet who also had his face covered?

It was a couples outfit, for sure, which is why fans thought the man behind the mask was Kardashian’s estranged husband, Kanye West. “Kim and Kanye with the matching fits at the #MetGala,” one West fan account tweeted. 

“KANYE AND KIM KARDASHIAN ARE UP TO SOMETHING AND I DONT KNOW WHAT #MetGala2021,” someone else tweeted when they saw photos of what appeared to be West and Kardashian in matching face-covering outfits. 

The theory that West was Kardashian’s date only intensified when she changed her Instagram avi to a black circle, which matches West’s. The cover of his latest album, Donda, is just a black square. No words, no photos, no nothing—so was this Met gala look their IRL representation of that?

Well, not exactly. While it’s very possible Kardashian drew from Donda as inspiration for her look, the masked man next to her is not West. According to E! News it was Demna Gvasalia, the creative director of Balenciaga. Kardashian also revealed his identity on Instagram Story.

A source told E! that West didn’t attend the Met gala this year at all; however, “his presence [was] felt on the carpet.”

“It was [West] who introduced Kim to Demna and was instrumental in the newly formed relationship between her and Balenciaga,” the source said. “This look on Kim is like a new subculture and fashion statement. No logo, no face, but everyone knows it’s her.”

The source continued, “Kanye gave her the courage to push creativity and people’s imagination through art. It’s the ultimate confidence.”

There you have it, folks. Mystery solved. Now, I just have one question: How did Kim Kardashian see anything through that face mask?