Ripley’s Claims Kim Kardashian Did Not Damage Marilyn Monroe Dress As Video Shows Even More Snags
Crystals from the dress are hanging by the thread.
Instagram Ripley's Believe It Or Not! says Kim Kardashian was not responsible for any of the damage to Marilyn Monroe's dress that was seen in viral photos.
In a statement, the museum claims Kardashian "did not, in any way, damage the garment in the short amount of time it was worn at the Met Gala."
The owners of the dress clarified that the dress already had snags and pulled seams when it was bought at an auction in 2016.
This comes as even more footage has been released documenting the damage.
Kardashian wearing the dress Monroe wore to sing to President John F. Kennedy in 1962 has been a subject of debate with many accusing the reality TV star of misusing a piece of history.
Kardashian wore the dress for a matter of minutes on the red carper before changing into a replica.
Before and after photos show damage to Marilyn Monroe's dress after Kim Kardashian's Met Gala appearance.
Eariler this week, historian Scott Fortner shared two images side by side of what he says shows the dress before and after Kardashian wore it, slamming both Kardashian and "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" — the museum that owns the original dress.
Fortner claims the after photos were taken on June 12, after the dress was returned to Ripley's Hollywood location.
The before image of the dress shows the crystals of the dress in perfect condition. However, the after image shows numerous crystals missing from the dress and some hanging from the thread.
He further questioned the "Ripley’s Believe It Or Not" museum on whether it was worth it to let Kardashian borrow the dress.
“Ripleys Believe It Or Not” claimed that they had taken all measures to protect the dress.
Ripley’s press release stated, “Great care was taken to preserve this piece of pop culture history. With input from garment conservationists, appraisers, and archivists, the garment’s condition was top priority.”
They also stated that Kardashian had worn a replica of the original dress for the majority of the event.
Amanda Joiner, the Vice President of Licensing and Publishing at the museum also talked about the measures they took to protect the dress.
She said, “We did two different fittings with her. The first one was in L.A. in April and then the second one later in April to see whether or not the dress would fit.”
Joiner further mentioned that they had many discussions with Kardashian's team about handling the dress. Even during the Met Gala, Kardashian was accompanied by a museum representative.
“We always ensured that at any time we felt that the dress was in danger of ripping or we felt uncomfortable about anything, we always had the ability to be able to say we [were not] going to continue with this,” Joiner said.
Historians claimed that letting Kardashian wear the dress was a mistake.
As the issue has been analyzed by people, experts have also weighed in with their opinions. Some historians have also claimed that letting Kardashian wear the dress could have damaged it.
“Wearing historic clothing damages it. Full stop. A 60-year-old embellished silk dress is going to have problems, weak spots,” Conservator, Sarah Scaturro said.
“And Kim is certainly putting on products, lotions, creams, perfumes, body make-up, etc, all of which will further damage it.”
Fashion Historian, Keren Ben-Horin also talked about the dress and some clues from the event that may have led to the damage.
“You could see that when Kim Kardashian was going up the stairs, it was very hard for her to take big steps,” Ben-Horin said.
“The dress could have easily stained or ripped, and I think it was an unethical choice on their part to let the dress leave the museum.”
Sanika Nalgirkar is a news & entertainment writer at YourTango based in Seattle, Washington. She has a master's degree in Creative Writing from the University of Washington. You can check out some of her writing on her website.