Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, the museum that asks visitors to believe in what’s there before their very eyes, says Kim Kardashian did not damage Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress, despite what recently surfaced photos may show.
On Thursday the museum responded to renewed backlash against Kardashian and its own team after a private Monroe memorabilia collector, Scott Fortner, posted side-by-side before-and-after images of the dress in 2016 and one month after the 2022 Met Gala.
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“We hear you!” reads the caption of a slideshow Ripley’s posted to Instagram on Thursday.
“Kim Kardashian’s walk up the Metropolitan Museum’s stairs at this year’s Met Gala has caused quite the stir, but one thing it did not directly cause is the reported damage to Marilyn Monroe’s famed ‘Happy Birthday’ dress from 1962,” the museum said. “Ripley’s decision to let this garment have a Met Gala moment has been hotly contested, so we’re here to set the record straight.”
The Q&A in the slides includes mention that a report on the condition of the dress from 2017 noted “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.”
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The museum also acknowledged the “calculated risk” it assumed by allowing Kim Kardashian to wear the dress, but added that its mission has always been to “entertain and educate,” and that the discourse sparked by Kardashian’s wearing of the dress “does just that.”
“The historical importance of the dress has not been negated but rather highlighted,” Ripley’s claimed.
Circling back to Fortner’s prompt—“was it worth it?”—Ripley’s said yes, noting that Kardashian’s wearing of the dress introduced it to a new generation. It also added that no money was exchanged between the museum and Kardashian, despite rumors to the contrary; instead, the museum noted, Kardashian made charitable donations on its behalf to two organizations in the Orlando region.
Well, folks. Believe it…or not!
