The entire Kim Kardashian / Marilyn Monroe dress saga has been documented on their reality show The Kardashians because of course it has.
ICYMI: Kimmy wore Marilyn Monroe’s iconic bedazzled dress to the 2022 Met Gala and the garment was returned with signs of damage.
In footage from the new episode, Kim discusses her crash dieting and gruelling exercise regime that she underwent in order to fit into the dress.
“I have about three weeks to fit into this dress. I’m going to do every last thing that I can to try and make this happen,” Kim says in a confessional.
In one scene, we see Kim popping on a sauna suit to make her sweat.
She also recounted how Ripley’s almost didn’t let her wear the dress after realising it did not fit.
“They weren’t even gonna let me try it on, until Kris Jenner called,” Kim says.
“I have honestly been working my ass off. I will be crushed if this doesn’t pay off,” Kim says.
The episode airs on Disney+ next week.
Kim recently graced the cover of Allure Magazine and during the interview, she discussed the whole scandal.
Speaking to the beauty mag, Kim described the whole thing as “a roller coaster of emotions”.
“To even find the dress was a feat, and then to get them to allow me to wear the dress was another feat. You have [to wear] gloves and there are guards and you had to put down special paper. I think [the dresser] was shaking because if anything rips, if anything goes wrong, you know? This is Marilyn’s dress. And it absolutely did not fit.”
It’s sounding like this interview took place prior to the news that the dress had been ripped, so hearing Kim talk about struggling to fit into the dress and her fear of destroying the garment is hella cringey.
She went on to discuss the backlash to her crash dieting ahead of the event.
“If I was starving and doing it really unhealthy, I would say that, of course, that’s not a good message,” she said.
“But I had a nutritionist, I had a trainer. I have never drunk more water in my life. I don’t see the criticism for other people when they lost weight for roles — they are [considered] geniuses for their craft. There are so many things out there that are so not accurate and not true.”
I implore you to have a read of the interview, mostly because Kim discussed eating literal shit.
She said she’d eat “just a bite” to be youthful. Um, Ok…
But anyway, back to the dress drama. During her appearance on The Today Show, Kardashian was asked by the hosts about the infamous dress debacle.
“We keep seeing stuff like, ‘The dress is ruined’ All of that is not true?” Hoda Kotb asked.
“No,” Kardashian replied. “Ripley’s [and I] worked together so well; there were handlers in gloves that put it on me.”
“It was such a process,” she said. “I showed up to the red carpet in a robe and slippers, and I put the dress on on the bottom of the carpet, went up the stairs. I probably had it on for 3 minutes, 4 minutes.”
She added, “I respect [Monroe], I understand how much this dress means to American history. And with the theme [of the Met Gala] being American, I thought, ‘What’s more American than Marilyn Monroe singing happy to the President of the United States?’”
She went on to discuss the other controversy that came up during the Met Gala: her crash dieting to fit into the dress.
“I looked at it like a role,” she explained. “And I really wanted to wear this dress. It was really important to me.”
“It actually taught me a lot about my lifestyle and my health,” she added.
“And since then, afterwards, I continued to eat really healthy. I’m down 21 pounds now. I’m not trying to lose any more weight, but I have more energy than ever. I cut out so much sugar. A lot of junk food I was eating. I just completely changed my lifestyle.”
Watch the full interview below:
It comes after videos posted to Instagram by a bloke who recently visited the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! museum appear to show some v. visible damages done to the dress.
“Look at the damage caused by KK. Irreversible. Marilyn Monroe’s 1961 gown has multiple tatters now,” he wrote.
“‘So, I knew if anyone were to take the best care, of this dress and understand the importance of it, it would be me’ KK. These words play out on the video as you observe the damage done to MM’s gow.”
Have a watch below:
View this post on Instagram
In another photo, we got a zoomed-in look at the zipper and stretched fabric.
“Note the irreversible damage done to Marilyn’s gown by you know who,” he wrote. “The saddest part of all of this to me, is that MM was whored out by a woman this time, rather than a man. Shame.”
View this post on Instagram
Earlier this week, Pop Crave posted side-by-side photos of the gown, allegedly from before and after Kim Kardashian wore it to the Met. One of the pics showed signs of stretched fabric and missing crystals, especially around the dress’ back closure.
Have a go at it below:
Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress has reportedly been damaged after being worn by Kim Kardashian at the Met Gala.
The dress now shows signs of tearing, and several crystals are either missing or hanging off of it. pic.twitter.com/cFu1lUBmzS
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 13, 2022
Amid the ongoing backlash, the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum issued a statement insisting that the reality star “did not, in any way, damage the garment in the short amount of time it was worn at the Met Gala.”
“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,” noted Ripley’s VP of Publishing and Licensing Amanda Joiner, who stayed with the dress the day of the Met Gala during transportation from Orlando to New York.
The museum also debunked claims that Kim Kardashian paid to wear the dress, but rather, she donated to two charities in the greater Orlando area on behalf of the museum.
“Ripley’s Believe It or Not! will continue to exhibit the dress — in as-is condition — at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Hollywood through Fall 2022,” the company concluded.
Back when it was revealed that Kim had busted out the dress for the Met Gala, Bob Mackie, the bloke who designed the dress for Marilyn Monroe, took issue with it, saying that it’s a “big mistake” to wear it to the event.
“[Marilyn] was a goddess. A crazy goddess, but a goddess. She was just fabulous. Nobody photographs like that. And it was done for her. It was designed for her. Nobody else should be seen in that dress,” Mackie told Entertainment Weekly
Meanwhile Alicia Malone, Turner Classic Movies host, explained to the mag: “Usually, these outfits are kept very much in controlled environments and we see that with the Met. The Costume Institute is so careful about how they are handling these historic items.
“So, it was quite alarming that she was able to wear it. I personally wish she wore a replica instead of the real thing.”
At the time, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Museum — which loaned the Marilyn Monroe lewk to the star and is currently displaying the garment at its Hollywood location — told the Post that precautions were taken to prevent any possible damage.
“This was no easy decision for Ripley’s, however, Kim Kardashian has continued to show the utmost respect for this opportunity and historic garment,” Ripley’s said in a statement.
“From extensive research to following guidelines such as no body makeup, only wearing the dress for the short red-carpet appearance, and making absolutely no alterations, she has become a steward — and added to — its history.”
Oh, Kim Kardashian. Stay messy.
