Devoted fans of the late Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe have accused Kim Kardashian of damaging the beaded gown made famous by Monroe, who wore it as she sang “Happy Birthday” to then-President John F. Kennedy in 1962. Kardashian was recently allowed to model the dress at the Met Gala in May.
On Monday, the Marilyn Monroe Collection shared on Instagram before and after photos of the gown which has been on display at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! location in Hollywood. They claim the dress is now “missing crystals” and that some were “left hanging by a thread.”
The photos were taken by ChadMichael Morrisette at the museum on June 12, though the authenticity of the images could not be confirmed, the Daily Mail reported.
“So much for keeping ‘the integrity of the dress and the preservation.’ @ripleysbelieveitornot, was it worth it?” read one caption in response to a statement released by Ripley’s concerning the decision to let the 41-year-old reality star borrow the custom Jean Louis gown, which was purchased by the museum for $5 million in 2016.
(Video: Daily Mail)
“Great care was taken to preserve this piece of pop culture history,” the museum’s statement read.
“With input from garment conservationists, appraisers, and archivists, the garment’s condition was top priority. Believe It or Not! no alterations were to be made to the dress and Kim even changed into a replica after the red carpet!”
A slew of Monroe fans took to Instagram in response to the pictures and accusations.
“Missing so many crystals and those tears,” one person wrote. “What a disaster!!”
“Not only the stretching around the zipper, but if you look at the upper-ish left side, there are several crystals missing!” another added.
“Damage has been done, and it can’t be fixed,” another complained.
“The fabric is torn. Imagine what could have happened to it if Kim had worn the dress even longer. I’m so sad to see this.”
Kardashian is the only person ever to wear the gown since Monroe wore it in ’62. She allegedly went on a strict diet and lost 16 pounds in three weeks in order to fit into the skin-tight nude-style dress.
Still, she was reportedly unable to zip it closed and added a shawl to the outfit to hide the open back.
She told Vogue that she did everything she could to protect the delicate gown.
“I’m extremely respectful to the dress and what it means to American history,” Kardashian said. “I would never want to sit in it or eat in it or have any risk of any damage to it, and I won’t be wearing the kind of body makeup I usually do.”
Collector and historian Scott Fortner, who owns the Instagram account for the Marilyn Monroe Collection was among many who decried the decision to remove the dress from its protective, climate-controlled display case at the museum.
“No one should have reworn this dress,” he told the New York Post last month. “It’s hard because [Kardashian] is one of the most influential people in the world.”
“If it was up to me, I would not have allowed it simply because of the importance of the piece in American cultural history,” he added. “But let me be clear, this is nothing to do with Kim Kardashian.”
Eighty-two-year-old designer Bob Mackie, who penned the original sketch for the dress when he was 23 and working as a fashion assistant for Jean Louis, concurred with critics of the museum’s decision.
“I thought it was a big mistake,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “[Marilyn] was a goddess. A crazy goddess, but a goddess. She was just fabulous.”
He continued, “Nobody photographs like that. And it was done for her. It was designed for her. Nobody else should be seen in that dress.”
Kardashian was not only slammed for wearing the dress but also for detailing her crash diet which critics say promoted an unhealthy body standard to her millions of fans.
“I had this idea to put it on and to try it on, and they came with armed guards and gloves. I tried it on and it didn’t fit me, and so I looked at them and said give me like three weeks, and I had to lose 16 pounds, down today, to be able to fit this,” Kardashian said during a red carpet livestream at the gala.
“It was such a challenge. It was like a role, I was determined to fit it.”
“I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein,” Kardashian said. “I didn’t starve myself, but I was so strict.”
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Frank (Chip) Webster is a musician and composer, former teacher of percussion and U.S. Army Infantry veteran. He holds a degree in English from Arizona State University.
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