Do you remember when Kim Kardashian stepped onto the 2022 Met Gala red carpet wearing the iconic 1962 dress that Marilyn Monroe wore when singing Happy Birthday To You to then-President JFK? At the time, fans didn’t really know what to think – the dress looked beautiful, but many took exception to it.
Kim Kardashian ended up wearing the dress for a couple of minutes before changing into a replica – she wore it long enough for people to snap photos of her in it. The dress was loaned to her by Ripley’s Believe It or Not, who purchased it in 2016 for a whopping $4.8 billion. They’ve been preserving it ever since.
That is until May, of course, when many people criticized Ripley’s and the reality TV star for putting the dress in harm’s way. In fact, some fans were claiming the dress was damaged in the process, though Ripley’s has denied those claims, stating that ‘the dress was in the same condition it started in.’
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Despite doubling down on their decision to loan Kim Kardashian the dress, fans are now learning that Ripley’s thought twice about the decision before giving it the green light. In fact, they flat-out denied Kardashian’s request when she first presented it – and were firm with Kim, despite her begging them.
That firm attitude changed once Kardashian’s mother and manager, Kris Jenner, got involved. In a new episode of The Kardashians, Kim revealed that Ripley’s wasn’t even ‘going to let me wear this dress, they weren’t even going to let me try it on until Kris Jenner calls,’ she explained in a confessional.
Of course, this led many fans to wonder – what did Kris Jenner say that had Ripley’s making a complete 180-degree turn with their decision? Jenner was asked this during a confessional. “I cannot tell you my secrets. But if somebody says ‘no,’ you know what I say: ‘You’re talking to the wrong person,’” she said.
“So after my mom’s conversation they’ve agreed to let me try on the dress one last time. And if it fits, I’m going to the Met. If it doesn’t fit, I’m not going to the Met,” said Kim. As most of us remember, she ended up going to the Met and was overjoyed with it being the first time her whole family attended at once.
Kim Kardashian Was Aware of the Criticism She Would Receive for Wearing the Dress
Later in the episode, fans learn that Kim Kardashian was well aware of the criticism and hate she would receive for wearing the dress. She forecasted how some people say, ‘How dare she think she can step into Marilyn’s dress.’ And sure enough, that’s exactly what they were saying, albeit for different reasons.
Nonetheless, Kardashian believed in what she was doing and was adamant about respecting the dress in every way possible. That’s why they had her change into a replica after her appearance on the red carpet with then-boyfriend Pete Davidson – to avoid damage during dinner and while sitting down in the dress.
“All of this — this losing weight, dyeing the hair for 30 hours, leaving the hotel in a robe, getting there, changing on the red carpet, just walking to the red carpet, then changing again into a replica of the dress because we can’t risk sitting in it and eating dinner — is all for maybe 10 minutes of my life,” said Kim.
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While many people criticized her, Ripley’s was quick to show their support and denied there was any damage to the dress while in possession of Kim. Some people were even calling Kim a ‘modern day Marilyn’ and praising her for being the one chosen to wear the dress – it was an iconic moment for her.
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