De Blasio attends Met Gala red carpet -- years after ridiculing event

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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made an appearance at the Met Gala Monday night – despite previously shunning and ridiculing the high-society event. 

De Blasio was captured stepping on the red carpet with his wife Chirlane McCray and son Dante after calling the event "not my cup of tea," back in 2019. 

"It’s an elite gathering, I’m not an elite guy. It really — let’s make it real simple, it’s just not my thing," he said at the time. "This is the kind of place where the elite goes and likes to be with each other, and I have a different approach."

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Dante de Blasio, from left, Chirlane McCray and Bill de Blasio attend The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" exhibition on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

The appearance on Monday comes as de Blasio is considering a potential run for governor -- as he enters his final stretch in office. 

His spokesperson Bill Neidhardt told Politico that the mayor was attending "to highlight the resiliency of New York City’s independent designers and the comeback of fashion industry jobs."

"The mayor made the decision to attend months ago in one of his hourslong economic recovery war room meetings led by Lorraine Grillo," Neidhardt said. "He wanted to highlight a local designer who had been able to make it through the pandemic. It’s a notable way to grab people’s attention and highlight the return of the city’s fashion industry jobs."

The Met Gala is regarded as one of the most exclusive social events in the world, which typically attracts celebrities and influencing people from around the world. 

While the gathering wasn't his cup of tea back in 2019, the mayor may need donors to support his possible run for governor, reports said. 

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De Blasio has had a rocky relationship with the business community in New York City, according to Politico. He was recently booed at the "Welcome Back NYC" concert that was canceled by storms stemming from Tropical Storm Henri.

On Monday, prior to the Met Gala, the mayor explained why he decided to attend the event this time around. 

"It's really about our recovery," he told Politico. "The message, the goals of this gala really celebrate diversity and inclusion, the things we need to focus on, the things that make this city great. And it's important that this is an event looked at around the country, around the world. I wanted to support it because it's another example of New York City coming back strong."

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De Blasio didn't immediately respond to a late-night request for comment from Fox News. 

Fox News' Houston Keene contributed to this report