Kim Kardashian Accused Of Damaging Marilyn Monroe's Dress

Kim was given permission to wear by Ripley's Believe It or Not!, which bought the dress for $4.8 million (£3.9 million) in 2016.

The 41-year-old reality TV star was given special permission to wear the dress to the biggest night in fashion in May.

Now, photos re-shared by The Marilyn Monroe Collection on Monday (13 June) appears to show some damage.

In the Instagram posts, the account states there are 'missing crystals and some left hanging by a thread'

The pictures were originally taken by photographer ChadMichael Morrisette who visited the Ripley’s Hollywood location on Sunday (12 June) before sending them to The Marilyn Monroe Collection.

In one post the Marilyn Monroe Collection directly called out Ripley's in the caption which read in part: "So much for keeping 'the integrity of the dress and the preservation.' @ripleysbelieveitornot, was it worth it?"

Another post features a side-by-side image of the dress said to be taken before and after Kardashian wore it. The caption states: "Just in case you missed it… Missing crystals, and some left hanging by a thread."

While another post includes a longer statement: "To anyone who may be questioning the actual condition of Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress prior to being purchased by @ripleysbelieveitornot or implying that low quality photos of the dress were shared to somehow make the newly discovered damage to the dress seem worse than it actually is.

"This is 4K video that I took of the gown while it was on display at @juliens_auctions in November of 2016. Without question, the damage is significant. #marilynmonroe."

When contacted for comment by Tyla, a representative for The Marilyn Monroe Collection shared that the dress is 'likely not repairable'.

The spokesperson added: "The fabric used to make the dress is no longer made. Of course original crystals are now missing. I believe restoring it is simply not possible."

They also reiterated the criticism towards Ripley's and said 'the issue here is more with Ripley's than with KK'.

Ripley's released a statement on 2 May regarding the efforts to protect the dress as Kardashian walked the carpet. "Great care was taken to preserve this piece of pop culture history," the statement reads. "With input from garment conservationists, appraisers, and archivists, the garment’s condition was top priority. Believe It or Not! no alterations were to be made to the dress and Kim even changed into a replica after the red carpet!⁠”

The Kardashians star, who attended the gala with her beau Pete Davidson, bleached her hair platinum blonde and claimed she lost 16 pounds (7kg) in less than a month to wear the dress.

Monroe wore the iconic dress to president John F. Kennedy's Madison Square Garden fundraiser in 1962 to sing Happy Birthday. In the following 60 years the garment has become a centrepiece in pop culture history.

Tyla has also contacted Ripley's and reps for Kim Kardashian for further comment.