On 2 May 2022, American socialite and media personality Kim Kardashian made headlines after she hit the Met Gala red carpet in the actual dress that Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang ‘Happy Birthday, Mr. President’ to John F. Kennedy in 1962. Loaned by Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, Kardashian first faced backlash after admitting that she lost 16 pounds in three weeks to fit in the dress. She was later criticised after a behind-the-scenes video went viral—which showed the fashion mogul struggling to squeeze her butt into the dress since it was simply not wide enough.

Reports later surfaced that the iconic dress had been damaged, something that the SKIMS founder has repeatedly denied. Now, Kardashian has added to the discourse by revealing why it was necessary that she wore Monroe’s dress in the first place.

In an interview with Today co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, Kardashian explained how she found out that some people on TikTok had no idea who Marilyn Monroe was before she wore her dress.

Guthrie first told Kardashian, “We were just talking, you said you were shocked on TikTok, some people don’t even know who Marilyn Monroe was.” To this, the model replied, “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.”

Designed by Jean Louis and featuring over 6,000 hand-sewn rhinestones, Monroe wore the dress in question just three months before her death. “I respect her and I understand how much this dress means to American history,” Kardashian continued. “With the theme being American, I thought what is more American than Marilyn Monroe singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the president of the United States.”

The SKIMS founder then went on to state how she first showed up to the red carpet in a robe and slippers. “I put the dress 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,” she explained, adding how the dress remains undamaged, despite previous reports.

“No. [Ripley’s and I] worked together so well. There [were] handlers and gloves that put it on me,” she said. Addressing the criticisms regarding her diet, she added, “I’m not trying to lose any more weight but I have more energy than ever. I cut out so much sugar, a lot of junk food I was eating. I just completely changed my lifestyle.”