Weeks after rumours broke out that Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress has been ruined by Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star has come out to debunk the claims.
The business mogul set tongues wagging when she wore the dress to the 2022 Met Gala in May. She further irked the ire of many after disclosing that she has gone through an extreme weight-loss before fitting into the dress as it could not be altered.
Few weeks after the event, a Marilyn Monroe collector, Scott Fortner, claimed that there was permanent damage done to the dress.
Fortner, who works to authenticate and verify Monroe memorabilia, shared some photographs via his Instagram page to show what appeared to be a stretched and buckled fabric as well as missing crystals on the back of the dress.
Owned by Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, the famous dress was worn by late Hollywood legend, Marilyn Monroe, when she sang for President John F Kennedy on the occasion of his 45th birthday.
During an interview with TODAY Show which aired on Tuesday, the SKIMS founder said she wore the dress for a total of four minutes, after which it was carefully taken off her by handlers.
“I showed up to the red carpet in a robe and slippers, and I put the dress on, on the bottom of the carpet, then went up the stairs. I probably had it on for a total of three minutes, four minutes, and then I changed at the top of the stairs,” she revealed.
When the interviewer asked if the rumours about her damaging the dress are true, she answered, “No”. She also credited Ripley’s for their meticulous care while getting her into and out of the dress.
This corroborates a statement released by Ripley’s on Thursday where it was revealed that the clothes already had notable damage prior to Kim wearing it.
Amanda Joiner, Ripley’s VP of Publishing and Licensing, who accompanied the dress to New York where the Gala happened, also 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.”
