‘Dune’ Star Zendaya Sparks Etiquette Debate After Greeting Brigitte Macron From Her Seat at Louis Vuitton
Zendaya’s front-row appearances usually make headlines for her fashion. At Louis Vuitton’s Spring/Summer 2027 show in Paris, though, a brief handshake ended up drawing nearly as much attention as her outfit.
The 30-year-old has been a global ambassador and campaign star for the French fashion house since April 2023. On Tuesday, October 6, she took her front-row seat at the Louvre’s Cour Carrée, where the label closed out Paris Fashion Week alongside Emma Stone, Saoirse Ronan and Ana de Armas.
Before the show started, France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron, approached Zendaya to say hello. In a video shared by Paris Match, Zendaya stays seated as Macron leans in for a handshake, and that moment has set off a heated online debate about etiquette.
In the clip, Zendaya is chatting with another guest when Macron walks over. She looks up, smiles, shakes Macron’s hand, and greets her warmly, telling her it was a pleasure to meet her, all without getting up.
Louis Vuitton’s guest list that evening was packed with major names, and LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault was also seen before the show. The exchange lasted only seconds, but it spread quickly across social media.
Zendaya girl…. you gotta get up when the First Lady of France is trying to say hello to you 😭😭😭😭😭 https://t.co/YoJs70NCiN
— Louis Pisano (@LouisPisano) October 6, 2026
Many viewers felt Zendaya should have stood. One X user summed it up with a widely shared post telling her she needed to get up when the First Lady of France was trying to say hello.
Others were harsher, calling the moment rude and arguing that greeting someone while seated breaks basic etiquette. Some framed it as a generational issue, while one commenter called it an accidental power move. Plenty of people pushed back on the criticism. Several argued that Zendaya seemed caught off guard and had little time to react before Macron was already in front of her.
Others asked why she was expected to stand at all, noting that Zendaya is neither a French citizen nor a foreign dignitary. Some viewers also suggested she may not have recognized who was greeting her.
Zendaya and Emma Stone at Louis Vuitton fashion show https://t.co/cBJD5PGCIP
— 26 (@2026MetGala) October 6, 2026
The video doesn’t make clear whether Zendaya knew it was Macron. What it does show is that she acknowledged her, smiled, and shook her hand, which supporters say hardly counts as a snub.
The debate has partly overshadowed Zendaya’s outfit. She wore a white tank and jeans under a ruffled ivory lace bolero, the same custom Nicolas Ghesquière piece she first wore to the Paris premiere of ‘The Odyssey’ in July.
Her longtime stylist Law Roach also attended the show with her. The relaxed styling suited a year in which Zendaya has already promoted several major films. This isn’t the first time a few seconds at a Louis Vuitton show have taken on a life of their own.
A previous clip of Roach appearing unsure of where to sit sparked rumors about their partnership, which Roach later dismissed, explaining that the team had simply been moving guests to their seats quickly.
Zendaya attends the Louis Vuitton Womenswear Spring/Summer 2027 show. https://t.co/Gqp3cji5TI
— 21 (@21metgala) October 6, 2026
The latest debate shows how closely every gesture is watched when a star of Zendaya’s profile sits in the front row. For now, opinions remain divided on whether she made an etiquette mistake or the internet is overreacting.
Do you think Zendaya should have stood up to greet Brigitte Macron?
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