Here's Why Cardi B Called Her Met Gala Dress Designer 'Asian' Instead of His Name

Cardi B found herself amid a major backlash after she forgot the name of Sensen Lii, the Chinese fashion designer behind her stunning black gown that she wore at the 2024 Met Gala on Monday night. According to HuffPost, she initially posted, and then deleted, a video addressing the slip-up. All eyes were on the rapper as she climbed up the stairs in her magnificent black gown, but she went blank when it came to mentioning the designer's name. Instead of acknowledging her memory lapse, the Up artist described Lii as "this amazing designer who is 'Asian'."

This action resulted in several harsh remarks by many fashion enthusiasts. B faced criticism online with critics accusing her of being racially insensitive, according to Billboard. One notable critic was Gilbert Cheah, Vogue's former managing editor, who commented on B's mistake on Instagram. He wrote, “For the record and recognition, and no thanks to Cardi B, the designer of her gown is Sensen Lii who’s Chinese. The gown took two months to make. I personally think it’s boring and not even on theme but she chose it and should have at least remembered his name and not just that he’s ‘Asian’.”

On Wednesday, B took to social media to address the controversy, attributing her mistake to nerves. In a video posted on her Instagram Story (which was later deleted), the WAP singer clarified that her intention was not to be insensitive; she simply forgot how to pronounce the designer's name. She explained that she referred to Lii as "Asian" instead of mentioning his nationality because she believed it was better than being incorrect. According to Perez Hilton, she said, “I kind of forgot how to pronounce the designer’s name because his name is a little bit complicated… my mind was just racing."

She added, "I think the former director of Vogue got offended because I said Asian designer. I said Asian designer because I knew the designer was Asian, but I wasn’t sure what nationality the designer was. And I feel it’s offensive if I were to be like, ‘Oh, some Chinese designer. Oh, some Korean designer. Or some Vietnamese designer.’ I feel like get somebody’s nationality mixed up so I said an Asian designer. I didn’t say that to be offensive or to get your little speedos in a bunch.” She then went behind her critic, calling out Cheah for disrespecting the designer of the gown and her stylist with his remarks.

B said, “I feel like the designer and my stylist worked really hard for this theme, so for you to be kind of shady because she feels offended or whatever, it just proves why you’re the former director. You’re trying to offend me but you’re actually offending the people behind the scenes.” The rapper's clarification was short-lived. By early evening, the video seemed to have vanished. What remained online was a clip of B showcasing the gown, originally shared by Lii. Along with the video, she wrote, “I have to give another thank you to @windowsen. I chose you because of your amazing talent and you made this Met Gala a night to remember @sensenlii.”