Ripley’s Museum has spoken out following accusations that Kim Kardashian damaged the Marilyn Monroe dress they loaned her.
Kim donned Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress to the 2022 Met Gala, an act that generated mixed reactions.
Recently, Marilyn Monroe historian and collector Scott Fortner released two side-by-side photos of the dress said to be before the Met Gala and after Kim wore it to the Met Gala. Fortner then claimed Kim had damaged the dress.
However, a rep for Ripley’s Believe It or Not! – who bought the dress for $4.8 million in 2016 – has come to Kim’s defense.
The rep told TMZ: “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 rep said the photo was taken before Ripley’s even acquired the piece.
The rep adds that since the purchase of the dress, Ripley’s has displayed it around the world – a process that has also put the piece at risk for potential damage.
Amanda Joiner, Ripley’s VP of Publishing and Licensing – who was with Kim and the dress the entire day of The Met – says, “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.”
The dress is the exact same one Marilyn famously wore way back in 1962 for President John F. Kennedy’s birthday when she sang for the President.
