BELIEVE IT OR NOT! Did Kim Kardashian receive FAKE locks of Marilyn Monroe's hair from Ripley's?
Kim Kardashian made headlines recently as she wore Marilyn Monroe's golden gown to the Met Gala 2022 and walked the red carpet in grace. However, a new controversy has erupted, as according to Monroe historian Scott Fortner, when the reality star visited the Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum in Orlando, Florida, she was reportedly presented with fake locks of Monroe's golden hair. He validated the argument by providing proof.
On Friday, May 6, Fortner, owner of the website TheMarilynMonroeCollection.com, questioned the authenticity of the historical keepsake Ripley's provided Kardashian, 41, before her appearance at the Met Gala last week. Fortner wrote on Instagram, "News Alert: Marilyn Monroe Hair Gifted to Kardashian by Ripley’s is Fake." He also posted a screenshot of another strand of Kardashian's hair that was discovered in her Met Galas dressing room. The hair given to Kim was allegedly cut from Monroe's hair by legendary hairdresser Robert Champion before her historic performance on President John F. Kennedy's birthday. Fortner claimed that Kenneth Battelle, not Robert Champion, had trimmed the hair, and he provided confirmation by posting a receipt from a beauty parlor.
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Kardashian's jaws fell as a museum employee gave her the locks of hair, secured in a circular metal case, in a video posted by Ripley's on Instagram last Tuesday, May 3. The same clip was published on Fortner's Instagram page, along with a screenshot from Ripley's outlining the hair's origins and what he claims is a receipt from the hair salon that worked on Monroe's coif in 1962. When gifted with a lock of Monroe's hair, Kardashian embraced Ripley's crew and said it was "special." According to Ripley's caption, "During @KimKardashian’s Met Gala dress fitting at Ripley's Believe It or Not! HQ, our team surprised her with a silver box that contained an actual lock of Marilyn’s iconic platinum hair. The Ripley’s team also filled her Met Gala dressing room with a trove of Marilyn Monroe and JFK memorabilia to help inspire her look."
According to a spokeswoman from Ripley's, the strand of hair given to the celebrity was genuine and not the same as the hair spotted in her dressing room ahead of the Met Gala 2022. They claimed that the lock of hair was presented to Champion by Marilyn Monroe, despite the fact that it was not trimmed by Champion. They also said that the clipping has been verified by a hair collector specialist.