Kim Kardashian Says Some People Didn’t Know Who Marilyn Monroe Was Before The Met Gala

Kim Kardashian believes she has helped elevated Marilyn Monroe's relevancy in the 21st century.

The reality TV star is still feeling the heat after she wore the icon's legendary 1962 'Happy Birthday JFK' dress at the 2022 Met Gala.

There has been a lot said about whether she did or didn't damage the dress while she wore it for all of four minutes on the red carpet.

However, she says the short moment helped educate a whole generation of young people about Ms Monroe because many people on social media had no clue who the blonde bombshell even was.

"That was the most shocking thing to me and that's why I was so happy to at least have that opportunity and that Ripley's gave me the opportunity to share this moment so that it could live on," she explained during an interview on Today.

I mean, Monroe is one of the most iconic people to have ever graced the American entertainment industry.

She was an actor, singer and model, and was one of the biggest and most popular 'sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s'.

Admittedly, there have been loads of videos on social media showing interviewers going up to young people and asking them to name the historical figure shown to them and they fail spectacularly.

So you can assume that some young people on social media might be able to tell you who a TikTok star is before they'll recognise Marilyn Monroe.

In the days and weeks since that infamous moment on the red carpet, Kim has copped loads of backlash for putting on the dress.

It's largely regarded as a piece of history and Kim's critics say she had no right to take it out of the Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum and parade around in it for a few minutes just because she wanted to.

However, Kardashian has since hit back at the haters and explained why it was important to wear the gown.

"I respect her and I understand how much this dress means to American history. With the theme being American, I thought what is more American than Marilyn Monroe singing 'Happy Birthday' to the President of the United States," she said on Today.

She added: "It was such a process. I showed up to the red carpet in a robe and slippers.

"I put the dress on on the bottom of the carpet, went up the stairs, I probably had it on for four minutes and then I changed right at the top of the stairs.

Kim said the team from Ripley's worked tirelessly to ensure there was no damage done to the dress.