Dress Owner Denies That Kim Kardashian Damaged Marilyn Monroe’s Dress

Kim Kardashian hit the headlines this week after she was accused of damaging Marilyn Monroe’s ‘Happy Birthday, Mr President’ dress when wearing it at the Met Gala.

But now, the owner of the iconic Hollywood gown has now spoken out in defence of the reality star and has claimed that she did not damage the 1962 gown. 

Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, the museum which has owned the dress since 2016, said that despite images appearing to show damage, they ‘can say with confidence' that it was not caused by Kim, per a statement on their website. 

The images show a number of gems missing from the back of the dress, which appears stretched as well as damage to the right strap, which now looks frayed. 

The museum explained that they are not the first owners of the gown and the damage pointed out by social media users was listed in its description from its old owner.

A description of its condition from early 2017 reads: “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.”

Ripley’s admits to displaying the dress since then, something they argue has been of cultural importance as it has introduced a new generation to Marilyn Monroe’s legacy.

Ripley’s VP of Publishing and Licensing, Amanda Joiner, accompanied the dress to the Met Gala with Kim and insisted that its condition did not change during the brief time Kim wore it on the red carpet before changing into a replica. 

“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,” she said.

This statement comes after not only Kim was criticised for wearing the original dress and not just a replica, but the museum itself for lending out the gown.

A sarcastic viewer of the apparently damaged strap wrote: “Let’s give her the Declaration of Independence to wear next.”

“Honestly, [Kardashian is] probably living for all of the attention this is giving her. All publicity is good publicity…” added a second.

A third wrote: “All the money in the world and she couldn’t just make a replica?”

The museum concluded its statement by revealing that the dress will be displayed in its current condition this autumn in its Hollywood location.