Many celebrity outfits fell short at this year’s Met Gala, but none failed as hard as Kim Kardashian’s. For the Gilded Glamor theme from this year Kardashian wore late starlet Marilyn Monroe’s dress, aptly deemed her “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress after she wore it to commemorate President John F. Kennedy’s birthday. This story would only be a problem of her misinterpretation of the theme if it wasn’t for the fact that she also mutilated Monroe’s legacy as a body positivity figure. 

Monroe was seen as an icon for women well before her death as she was depicted as the beautiful blonde men fought to be with in almost every movie she starred in. After her death, women used her as a symbol of body positivity due to her being curvier than most women, especially actors, of her time. She is famously quoted as saying, “to all the girls that think you’re ugly because you’re not a size 0, you’re the beautiful one. It’s society who’s ugly.” While this quote’s accuracy has been disputed, the point still stands: Monroe has become a role model for women as a body positive individual. 

Kardashian should’ve taken this reputation into account when planning her Met Gala entrance in the dress. And extensive planning was done leading up to the gala, including her unnecessary “diet.” She dropped an astonishing 16 pounds in just 3 weeks! Essentially starving herself just to fit into the dress only to have to take it off after a few pictures. This preparation for the gala is extremely dangerous and could have caused health complications such as electrolyte imbalances, gallstones and many other problems. 

Kardashian potentially risking her health for a photo-op goes against everything Monroe stands for in modern society. Today, Monroe is seen as a beautiful woman who didn’t care what size she was and wouldn’t have changed herself so dramatically for a simple garment. Kardashian could have easily decided to just pay an homage to Monroe by wearing the replica she had to have made since she wasn’t allowed to wear the dress for the whole night anyway. This controversy could’ve been avoided if Kardashian just remembered who she was emulating and took a healthier approach to the gala.