Kim Kardashian Accused of Ruining Marilyn Monroe’s Dress After Met Gala

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After wearing Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress that she wore to sing happy birthday to JFK, Kim Kardashian faced backlash. After claiming to have lost a significant amount of weight in two weeks to fit in the dress to people believing she shouldn’t have been allowed to wear the dress at all, many had something to say. Now, she has been accused of ruining the dress, and while some are upset, not many are surprised. According to an Instagram account that showed what the dress looked like after Kardashian wore it shows stretched fabric and missing crystals. The dress was returned to Ripley’s Believe it or Not for visitors to see, but one collector compared the before and after photos of the dress.

This sparked yet another controversy between both Kardashian and the people who allowed her to wear the dress, who had previously promised: “to preserve this piece of pop culture history.” At the time, fashion conservators spoke out against this, as they believed it sets back precedents in place to protect and conserve historic pieces of fashion. Although Kardashian only wore the dress for a brief moment on the red carpet before changing into a replica, many thought that this was disrespectful to history and more importantly, Marilyn Monroe herself. And, as people look at the comparison between the two dresses, more people are upset.

Although many referred to previous outrage when it came to the preservation of Monroe’s dress, others found it more disrespectful to Monroe herself. Many knew that Monroe’s life events were often tragic, as Forbes says that “as the actress was constantly denied ownership of her body and image, with Kardashian’s publicity stunt viewed as an extension of that pattern.” One person on Twitter wrote “It’s not about the actual dress. it’s about the meaning. Marilyn was used all her life, she hardly had anything that was truly her own. This dress, it was hers. it was designed specifically and ONLY for her. Now it’s ruined.” Many also wondered who was to blame for this, Kardashian or Ripley’s Believe it or Not for allowing her to wear the dress?

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Although some maintained that it was a just dress, some pointed out that it is similar to taking out a painting from the Louvre, like the Mona Lisa, and ruining it and not understanding why people were upset. Some people, however, were not surprised at all too surprised to see the dress was ruined, especially since rumors stated that Kardashian had a hard time getting into the dress before arriving.

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