Kim Kardashian Did Not Damage Marilyn Monroe’s Dress At Met Gala

Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! released a statement on Thursday confirming that Kim Kardashian did not ruin Marilyn Monroe’s dress at the Met Gala.

The museum franchise said despite the online speculation, Kardashian “did not, in any way, damage the garment in the short amount of time it was worn at the Met Gala.”

The statement comes in response to images circulating on social media showing damage on the back of the gown. The pictures show signs of tearing around the seams, puckering at the hooks and eyes, and several Swarovski crystals had fallen off.

Ripley’s said the dress was already damaged when they bought it at an auction back in 2016.

Amanda Joiner, Ripley’s VP of publishing and licensing, went wherever the dress was, from Florida to New York and while Kardashian wore it. According to Joiner, the gown was the same “from the bottom of the Met steps, where Kim got into the dress, to the top where it was returned.”

Monroe made the dress the iconic gown it is today when she wore it to sing “Happy Birthday” to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1962. Created by Jean Louis and Bob Mackie, Kardashian agreed that no alterations would be made to the glittering gown.

Kardashian’s use of the dress at the Gala provoked criticism from heritage industry bodies, including the International Council of Museums (ICOM).

“Historic garments should not be worn by anybody, public or private figures,” the ICOM, an international governing body for heritage organizations, said in a statement last month. “Although the dress belongs to a private collection, the heritage must be understood as belonging to humanity, regardless of which institution has custody of the property.”

The gown now resides on display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Hollywood through the fall.