While other celebrities are making headlines for being at the 2022 Met Gala, Selena Gomez is making the news for not being there. She is instead focusing on TikTok for the day.

The singer's absence from this year's Met Gala makes it the fourth consecutive year she has not appeared at the event. Her 2018 appearance, too, was an admitted beauty disaster.

But why is she not in New York this time around? Is it the embarrassment from four years ago or something else?

Selena Gomez Comments on Not Being at the Met Gala 2022

While many others were busy flaunting the fashion statement-making dresses they wore at the gala, Gomez was busy making jokes on TikTok.

On May 2, 2022, Gomez posted a TikTok, making fun of her singlehood while also looking gorgeous in the video.

"No I'm fine," she said at the beginning of the video. "I'm totally fine being single. It's a real thing, it's fine."

She then panned the camera towards her four friends, who were also couples, who were on the sofa right next to her, cuddling and looking cute. A second into filming them, the couples, acting for the camera, broke character and started giggling at Gomez's joke.

The singer then panned the camera back to her face, and as she did that, the giggles turned into laughter. She, on the other hand, had a half-annoyed, half-empty expression on her face. That's where the video ended.

While the post had nothing to do with Met Gala, all the comments were questions from people asking why she was not at the event.

"Why aren’t u at the met," one asked. In response, another user expressed their contentment with her not being there.

"she's with her friends happy and having fun," the user said. "but she would slay if she went."

Many others had the same line of questioning directed toward her. And Gomez was not ignoring them.

Selena Gomez responds to a fan's question about not attending Met Gala 2022.

Selena Gomez responds to a fan's question about not attending Met Gala 2022. (Photo: TikTok/Twitter)

Gomez, while not opening up on exactly why she missed the event this year, cheekily replied to one user lamenting her absence. "When I go back... you'll know babe," Gomez replied, with a smirk emoji attached at the end.

What Selena Gomez Has Been up To

Gomez not attending the Met Gala this year might have something to do with her recent projects and willingness to spend time with her close ones.

At the end of April, Gomez was spotted spending time with her family and relaxing doing some horse-riding. Her TikTok featuring her friends might also hint at her priorities right now.

Other than personal time, Gomez has been busy professionally as well. Despite filming Only Murders in the Building in New York City, she has been on the West Coast recently, shooting for Selena + Chef.

Her previous Met Gala experience wasn't all that great, either, which might have added to her hesitation in attending this year. In 2018, she had a beauty mishap when her tanning lotion went darker as time passed.

She feared the look would get her into hot water and left the event early. Gomez still owned up to the mishap and made a joke about it later on her Instagram, posting a clip of herself running towards her car still in her red carpet dress.