Fans Are Unamused By Kim Kardashian Borrowing From Another Late Icon For Daughter North West

Wearing an iconic Marilyn Monroe dress to May's Met Gala earned Kim Kardashian multiple waves of backlash. In addition to critical speculation that Kardashian endured unhealthy methods of weight loss for the event, some deemed it disrespectful that she wore a dress custom-made for the "Some Like It Hot" star. With the sparkly gown designed just for Monroe's performance of "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" in 1962, Monroe historian Scott Fortner told People, "It's not an off-the-rack garment. The fabric for the dress was literally sculpted to [Monroe's] body to precisely match every curve." 

Marilyn-gate continued when Ripley's Believe It or Not, the owner of Monroe's dress since 2016, shared an Instagram video of staffers gifting Kardashian a lock of Monroe's hair. Many fans found the gesture odd and even exploitative. "This woman passed away 60 years ago and her body is still being commodified," one such Twitter user commented at the time. Furthermore, according to Fortner, the lock of Monroe's platinum blonde hair is actually a fake, taking to Instagram to refute Ripley's claim. 

With Halloween came dress-up season again ... and this time, Kim is attracting heat for daughter North West's tribute to another deceased celebrity.

Authenticity is apparently key in Kim Kardashian and family's celebrity recreations. For Halloween this year, Kardashian's eldest daughter, North West, dressed up as Michael Jackson from his 1988 music video for "Smooth Criminal." Imitating the late King of Pop's iconic black leather jacket and pants, North donned the real thing when it came to his white fedora. Still stained with Jackson's makeup from the music video, the hat was purchased for North by her mother at a 2019 auction, per Page Six. 

While an impressive item to own, many within the Twittersphere thought the Jackson hat too precious an artifact to be worn for a costume. "Isn't that something to be displayed and not touched," one user noted, while another opined that the costume authenticity "is not a flex, it's just creepy." The latter user wasn't alone in thinking it odd that Kardashian enjoys donning the wardrobe of deceased icons. "Why does this family have so many dead celebrities' things??? this is just getting weird," another wrote. 

Kardashian doesn't just own Jackson's white cap. As part of a Christmas present, she also bought North a velvet jacket he wore to Elizabeth Taylor's 65th birthday party in 1997, per Page Six. Dropping a cool $65,625 on the item, Kardashian reportedly had the jacket altered to accommodate her 9-year-old daughter's coming growth spurts.