Kim Kardashian receives backlash after Marilyn Monroe's dress she wore to Met Gala is damaged

14 June 2022, 11:20

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson attend Met Gala

By Jazmin Duribe

"Marilyn Monroe’s 4 million dollar president dress is destroyed forever. For what? We have no respect for anything anymore as long as it they get the gram."

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Kim Kardashian appears to have damaged Marilyn Monroe's iconic dress that she wore to the 2022 Met Gala.

Marilyn wore the garment to sing for President John F Kennedy at his birthday in 1962 and it was loaned to Kim from the Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum. The dress was only handled with gloves and was transported by guards to ensure that it would remain in pristine condition, and Kim later changed into a replica once she was inside to prevent damaging it.

But as you know, the fact that Kim even wore the dress to the annual fashion event was already rather controversial. Because the dress is an iconic piece of American history, it couldn't be altered, which meant Kim had to lose a whopping 16lbs in three weeks to fit into it. When Kim revealed that she had embarked on a diet to squeeze herself into the dress she drew criticism for promoting an unhealthy lifestyle.

Not only that, legendary fashion designer Bob Mackie, who drew the original sketch for Marilyn's dress, said that allowing Kim to wear the dress was a "big mistake" and "nobody else should be seen in that dress" but Marilyn herself.

Kim Kardashian accused of damaging Marilyn Monroe's iconic dress. Picture: @kimkardashian via Instagram, Gotham/Getty Images

But despite all the measures that were put in place to ensure the dress survived the Met Gala, it appears to have been damaged. Although it hasn't been stated that Kim was the person who damaged it, according to @marilynmonroecollection on Instagram, the dress showed signs of wear and tear following the Met Gala.

In the photo, you can see the dress both before and after the Met. Before the Met, the dress was in pristine condition but in the image from after the event, which was taken at Ripley's on June 12, you can see the dress is missing some crystals and appears to be fraying at the seam where it had been stretched.

"Just in case you missed it… Missing crystals, and some left hanging by a thread," one of the photos was captioned.

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A post shared by The Marilyn Monroe Collection (@marilynmonroecollection)

People slammed Kim for wearing the dress and ruining an important part of history, citing a video in which we saw several people physically try and squeeze Kim into the gown.

One person tweeted: "Pre and post Kim Kardashian. Marilyn Monroe’s 4 million dollar president dress is destroyed forever. For what? We have no respect for anything anymore as long as it they get the gram."

Another added: "The historic Marilyn Monroe dress has been damaged. The sheer material is frayed & ripped around the zipper & some crystals have popped off from Kim Kardashian attempting to squeeze into it. A piece of Hollywood history has lost its flawless magnificence. Shame."

These photos of the damage done to Marilyn Monroe’s dress before and after it was worn by Kim Kardashian at the Met Gala… I need to go lay down pic.twitter.com/63QwC8l10J
— Sarah McGonagall (@gothspiderbitch) June 13, 2022

the back of marilyn’s jfk dress now… it feels illegal pic.twitter.com/wZHn8IIFRX
— бен (@poshdelrey) June 13, 2022

kim kardashian trying on marilyn monroe’s dress pic.twitter.com/jOhqXTY8HX
— + (@whipdoja) June 13, 2022

Pre and post Kim Kardashian. Marilyn Monroe’s 4 million dollar president dress is destroyed forever. For what? We have no respect for anything anymore as long as it they get the gram. pic.twitter.com/KXEXepbdJx
— suzie kennedy (@suziekennedy) June 13, 2022

And this is why every historical garment archivist and textile expert about had a coronary seeing Kim Kardashian in Marilyn Monroe's dress. https://t.co/XIs9MOeEiK
— Kathryn #GoBolts⛈️ Brightbill (@KEBrightbill) June 13, 2022

The historic Marilyn Monroe dress has been damaged. The sheer material is frayed & ripped around the zipper & some crystals have popped off from Kim Kardashian attempting to squeeze into it. A piece of Hollywood history has lost its flawless magnificence. Shame. pic.twitter.com/IT6pnOW1Lq
— The Marilyn Diaries (@MarilynDiary) June 13, 2022

Kim has not responded to the backlash or cited if she returned the dress damaged, but a new TikTok video just might absolve her of any guilt.

Apparently, the damage was already there before Kim had even tried on the dress, according to a video Ripley posted of Kim's fitting. The video proves that there were rhinestones missing from the dress and signs of wear and tear at the seams.