The biggest names in film, music, TV and fashion gathered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the event - regarded as the biggest in the fashion world - on Monday night.
Photos appeared to show police tackle pro-Palestinian protesters who attempted to disrupt the arrival of stars, who famously ascend the museum’s steps.
Just a block away from the event, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters on Madison Avenue tried to draw attention to the Gaza war.
Police made some arrests to contain the protests, the New York Times reported.
Photos appeared to show police officers tussling with protesters, some of whom covered their faces with scarves and Covid-style face masks, and waved Palestinian flags.
Officers were seen wearing riot gear, despite reports the protests were peaceful.
Some protesters carried cardboard signs bearing slogans such as “no Met Gala while bombs drop in Gaza” and “no celebration without liberation”, The New York Times reported.
Stars were told to dress in “Garden of Time”-themed attire for the invite-only event, known for its A-list celebrities and extravagant outfits.
Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Gigi Hadid, Kim Kardashian, Cardi B and Andrew Scott were among stars at the event, which Vogue editor-in-chief Dame Anna Wintour has been running since 1995.
The nearby protests came amid growing backlash against the war in Gaza in recent weeks.
More than 2,100 people have been arrested as pro-Palestinian protests have swept college campuses across the US, including in New York and Los Angeles.
Protesters threw teargas canisters as they clashed at pro-Palestinian encampments in LA on Thursday, hours after police had forcibly cleared a similar protest in New York.
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Oxford and Cambridge students on Monday launched Gaza-style encampments of tents on campuses after the protest movement spread to the UK.
It followed protests earlier this week across British universities Goldsmiths in London, and encampments created in Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester.