Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Won a Pulitzer Prize While Getting Ready for the 2025 Met Gala
Last night, playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins—best known recently for his acclaimed 2024 play Purpose—marked his very first time attending the Met Gala. Being a part of the special evening was an exciting accomplishment on its own—but the night turned even more monumental when the artist learned that he had won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama while getting ready. (No big deal.) “I knew this would be a big year for myself and my Broadway play, and it felt like there was a lot of synergy there,” says Jacobs-Jenkins.
Jacobs-Jenkins received overwhelming acclaim for Purpose, which also picked up six Tony nominations; the play follows the influential Jasper family and the secrets and cracks behind their surface. Given that the red carpet at the Met last night was a display of Black excellence, the playwright and his distinctive work fit right in. “It’s the most excited I’ve been around a Met exhibit in some time,” says Jacobs-Jenkins, who was a fan of the exhibit s Black dandyism theme. “I thought it had a lot of integrity to it, and a lot of specificity. When I heard that [curator] Monica Miller was involved, I was like, Whoa, this is about to be next level.”
Equally as next level: Jacobs-Jenkins’s elegant outfit for the night. Styled by Ian Bradley, the playwright wore a Michael Kors Collection black wool broadcloth reefer coat with hand-embroidered sequin fringed sleeves, paired with a black wool broadcloth vest and trousers. “I was excited to have a big conversation about American design, and how it can intersect with the exhibit itself,” Jacobs-Jenkins says of his look. “I love a coat, and I really loved the hand-embroidered sequined fringe sleeve details.” The artist adds that the tailored outerwear felt like the perfect nod to dandyism. “When I think about dandyism, I think about self-consciousness and flair, a little camp, a little color,” he says. “I tried to find a version of that that lived in my zip code in 2025.”
His jewelry for the night was just as special. “I love a pin and a brooch, and Ian pulled some really incredible vintage pieces from Stephen Russell,” explains Jacobs-Jenkins. “I liked that [my look] was a bunch of American makers, during an interesting time to be an American. And I feel like what was also at the heart of this exhibit was a reminder of how absolutely American Black style has been for centuries.”
As for the playwright’s review of his first Met Gala? He said walking those iconic Met steps was surreal, for starters. “I was trapped between the amazing Megan Thee Stallion and Sabrina Carpenter, so no one cared about me,” he laughs. “It was kind of amazing to feel the chill of non-fame as I moved through the entrance. It was less scary than I had thought it would be, and I was happy to be walking it with a friend, Whitney White, so I didn’t feel like I was alone in the blizzard and the trenches.”
Once he made his way inside, Jacobs-Jenkins says seeing the new “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” exhibition was the main highlight—“It was incredibly curated, with some really great storytelling,” he says—as well as catching up with friends old and new, including Regina King and Sam Smith. “Another highlight was, of course, watching Lupita Nyong’o in this incredible dress floating around like a goddess,” says Jacobs-Jenkins. “And Usher and Stevie Wonder performing... It was very mind-blowing and wonderful. I’m just so glad to have been present for this one, because this exhibit was so meaningful to me, and it felt very resonant for so many people in that room.”
Below, see more photos from inside his 2025 Met Gala.
Photo: Emilio Madrid/Courtesy of Michael Kors1/8Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and director-actor Whitney White.
Photo: Emilio Madrid/Courtesy of Michael Kors2/8
