Ripley's has broken their silence over claims Kim Kardashian damaged the Marilyn Monroe dress that she borrowed for the 2022 Met Gala.
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Ripley's Believe it or Not! took to social media to comment on the controversy and revealed that Kim "did not personally damage the item in the short amount of time" she wore it on the carpet.
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They also shared a report from 2017 that revealed that at the time "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," the report from five years ago read.
"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," said Ripley's VP of Publishing and Licensing, Amanda Joiner, who joined Kim at the gala to keep an eye on the dress.
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"There is no disputing the fragility of the dress and there was a calculated risk associated with wearing it, but Ripley's has been collecting notable pop culture memorabilia, historical items, and unbelievable artifacts for years," the company continued in a statement.
"Our mission is to both entertain and educate, and sparking conversations like the discourse around this dress does just that. No matter which side of the debate you are on, the historical importance of the dress has not been negated, but rather highlighted."
Kim Kardashian had sparked controversy even at the time of wearing the dress,
The organization also cleared up rumors that Kim had paid to wear the dress, insisting that the mom-of-four "did not pay Ripley's Believe It or Not! to wear the dress, nor did the company pay her".
They added: "Rather, Kardashian made a charitable donation to two charities in the greater Orlando area on behalf of the company."
The controversy emerged when fashion’s unofficial watchdog Diet Prada shared photos of alleged damage. The photos were originally posted by Scott Fortner from ‘The Marilyn Monroe Collection’ the world’s largest private collection of Monroe’s personal property & archives.
Photos shared by Diet Prada show the extent of the alleged damage of the dress
The photos of the dress, which is currently on display at Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Museum, claim to show the dress with new tears along the back closure, as well as missing crystals and sequins.
The dress itself is over 60 years old, and was first worn by Marilyn to celebrate the birthday of president John F. Kennedy.
Kim's decision was controversial immediately after she famously told Vogue’s red carpet journalists at the Met Gala that she could not fit into the dress originally and had to shed 16 pounds in order to wear it.
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