The museum that lent Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress to Kim Kardashian has hit back at critics claiming the socialite damaged the garment.
At this year’s Met Gala, the KUWTK star surprised her fans as she walked down the red carpet in the crystal-studded dress that Marilyn Monroe wore back in 1962 when she sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to former president John F. Kennedy.
Following the event, critics, including The Marilyn Monroe Collection, spoke out and alleged that the socialite damaged, ruined, and stretched the popular dress even though she wore it for just 15 minutes before switching to a replica.
While The Marilyn Monroe Collection shared unverified pictures showing alleged damage to the dress – including missing crystals and stretched fabric – the owners of the dress now hit back at allegations that Kim damaged the dress saying it was already exhibiting signs of tear and wear before the Met Gala.
While a spokesperson for Ripley’s Believe It or Not! – the museum that bought the iconic dress for $4.8 million at a 2016 auction – admitted the staff had fears over the strap’s fragility before loaning the dress, they insisted Kim “did not, in any way, damage the garment.”
“Kim Kardashian’s walk up the Metropolitan Museum’s stairs at this year’s Met Gala caused quite the stir, but one thing Ripley’s Believe It or Not! can say with confidence is that it did not cause damage to Marilyn Monroe’s famed ‘Happy Birthday’ dress from 1962,” Ripley’s statement reads.
“Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is not the first owner of this dress. A report written on the dress’s condition in early 2017 states, ‘a number of the seams are pulled and worn. This is not surprising given how delicate the material is. There is puckering at the back by the hooks and eyes,’ among other instances of damage.”
The museum went on to defend Kim saying: “Kim Kardashian wearing the ‘Happy Birthday’ dress has been hotly contested, but the fact remains that she did not, in any way, damage the garment in the short amount of time it was worn at the Met Gala.”
Defending the aspiring lawyer was also Amanda Joiner, the museum’s VP of Publishing and Licensing, who said: “From the bottom of the Met steps, where Kim got into the dress, to the top where it was returned, the dress was in the same condition it started in.”
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