Ripley's Denies Kim Kardashian Damaged Marilyn Monroe's Dress At 2022 Met Gala

As they said, a report from 2017 described some of the dress' seams as being "pulled and worn" and mentioned other examples of damage including "puckering at the back by hooks and eyes."

It's also worth noting that — as People reported — Kardashian only wore the dress for a few minutes on the red carpet before changing into a replica for the remainder of the evening.

And they responded by saying that while they took a "calculated risk" due to how delicate the dress is, they decided that having Kardashian wear it at the gala would only highlight its historical significance, rather than negate it.

As they put it, "The dress could have been locked away in a private collection, unable to tell its story."

Whereas they argued that their tours and its appearance at the gala introduced the dress to a new generation.

Indeed, they maintained that neither party paid each other for the collaboration and that instead, Kardashian made donations to two unspecified charities in the Orlando area on their behalf.

In the words of one commenter whose statements were reported by People, "Do you guys really not see the irony? The Gala specifically fundraises for the Met Costume Institute, which has an entire department devoted to preserving and conserving historical garments."

This prompted Ripley's to respond with, "Believe It or Not! the powers that be, behind the Met Gala, approved Kim's choice," but the overwhelming consensus from commenters was still that Ripley's had jeopardized the dress' value for a PR stunt.

As one user put it, "No one else should have worn that dress."

h/t: People