Hudson Williams’ Filipina MUA Asks for Kindness Amid Met Gala Look Criticisms

Touted as fashion's biggest night, the Met Gala is an annual fundraiser for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. It is also a celebration of the marriage of fashion and beauty, officiated by a theme. This 2026, guests were given the task to interpret Fashion Is Art.

As always, the world watched closely—and criticizingly—as celebrities and influential personalities walked up the famous Met steps. Among those who drew a lot of opinions was Hudson Williams, whose makeup divided the internet.

Taking cue from one of Hudson's favorite films—Black Swan, makeup artist Aika Flores focused on the essense of transformation. Sharing the inspiration and products in an Instagram post, Aika wanted to highlight "where innocence fractures and grace darkens, the white swan shedding softness to emerge as something sharper, untouchable, and entirely reborn."

Aika reinterpreted the famous winged eye makeup on Natalie Portman in the film with color, texture, and dimension. For contrast, one eye had shifts of blue while the other was red. Aika also struck a balance with matte and glitter finishes. Finally, the gradient effect of the smokey eyes was intentionally done to represent the progression.

Since the beauty look is far from what is usually seen on male celebrities, people on the internet were quick to share their negative criticism on Aika's post. Such comments prompted the makeup artist to remind people to choose kindness when sharing their two cents.

In a Threads post, Aika said, "Met Gala was chaos & a career highlight. High pressure, high stakes. As an artist, I receive all feedback, positive & negative, with grace & gratitude; it’s all part of growth. Taking a risk always comes at a cost, & I stand by that. There’s always room to evolve, no matter where I am in my career. But while everyone is entitled to an opinion, it’s important to remember there’s a human with feelings behind the work, building something with purpose, vision, & heart. It cost nothing to be kind. Please be kind to each other."

In return, Aika was also reminded of the positive impact she made through her work. People praised what she did and what it represented. In addition, a collage was shared that showed several recreations of her look on Hudson.