In case you missed it, Kim Kardashian chose the late Marilyn Monroe’s gown to don at the 2022 Met Gala last month.
Of course, she looked stunning in the gold crystal-covered gown, which is also known as the “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress, but there’s been a lot of controversy on whether or not she should’ve worn it at all. After all, how can someone ever top how Marilyn looked in it?
Kardashian admitted that she needed to make some body adjustments to even fit into the dress. She made a statement that she lost 16 pounds just three weeks before the event by extreme dieting and exercising. “I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein,” she told Vogue. “I didn’t starve myself, but I was so strict.”
“I always thought [Marilyn] was extremely curvy,” Kardashian had explained. “I imagined I might be smaller in some places where she was bigger and bigger in places where she was smaller. So when it didn’t fit me I wanted to cry because it can’t be altered at all.”
However, she got a lot of flack for not only wearing the one-of-a-kind dress, but for touting such extreme dieting to fit into it.
However, Kim is finally responding to the backlash and says that she did what she had to do—just like many actors have done before.
“To me, it was like, ‘OK, Christian Bale can do it for a movie role and that is acceptable.’ Even Renée Zellweger gained weight for a role. It’s all the same to me,” she told the New York Times. “I wasn’t saying, ‘Hey everyone, why don’t you go lose this weight in a short period of time?’”
She was referring to when Christian lost around 60 pounds to play his The Machinist in 2004, and when Renée put on 30 pounds to play Bridget Jones for the original movie and its sequel.
She also added that she “didn’t do anything unhealthy.” Plus, after the Met Gala was over, Kim went right back to her normal diet (and then some). Even that same night, she posted on Her Instagram story about the donuts and pizza she was about to eat when she returned to her hotel room.
She touts that it’s okay to care about what you look like—in fact, most people do. “So many people want to act like they don’t care about how they look,” she said. “I’m not acting like it comes easier or it’s all natural.”
What are your thoughts on Kim wearing Marilyn Monroe’s dress?