Making waves in the fashion world for her iconic choice of dress, (Marilyn Monroe’s nude, embellished “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress, now 60 years old), Kim Kardashian is facing backlash for perpetuating a glamourised and unrealistic attitude towards weight loss in the lead up to the 2022 Met Gala.
In an exclusive interview with Vogue, published ahead of the red carpet event, Kim detailed the choice to wear the dress for the second instalment of the theme In America: An Anthology of Fashion. In the piece, Kim explained the lengthy process of obtaining and fitting the dress — part of which included the fact it could not be altered. As a result, the article then detailed Kim’s 16-pound weight loss tactics in the three weeks leading up the the event, in order to fit the dress, which Kim reiterated when interviewed on the red carpet.
Joining a string of backlash from publications, Lili Reinhart has shared a series of now-deleted Instagram stories, slamming Kim Kardashian for her “other-wordly and disgusting” show of ignorance, in perpetuating weight loss for the purpose of a red carpet event. Lili’s statement reflects overwhelming public sentiment against Kim.
Lili Reinhart calls out Kim Kardashian after she boasted about losing 16 pounds in three weeks for the #MetGala:
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) May 4, 2022
“The ignorance is other-worldly and disgusting. Please stop supporting these stupid, harmful celebrities whose entire image revolves around their bodies.” pic.twitter.com/O2MVqYCKOg
Lili, who posted to her Instagram stories said: “To openly admit to starving yourself for the sake of the Met Gala. When you know very well that millions of young men and women are looking to you and listening to your every word…The ignorance is other-wordly and disgusting.” Before imploring people to “Please stop supporting these…harmful celebrities whose entire image revolves around their bodies.”
In response to accusations of hypocrisy, preaching body positivity when longtime boyfriend (now-ex) Cole Sprouse, lost a significant amount of weight for his role in film ‘Five Feet Apart’, she followed the statement on her Instagram stories by tweeting, “*sigh* I do not say the things that I say because I want to be relevant or get attention. I speak up because I don’t see enough people with large platforms calling out toxic behaviour in our industry. Some people will never understand where I’m coming from and that’s okay”.
*sigh*
— Lili Reinhart (@lilireinhart) May 4, 2022
I do not say the things that I say because I want to be relevant or get attention. I speak up because I don’t see enough people with large platforms calling out toxic behavior in our industry. Some people will never understand where I’m coming from and that’s okay ☯️🙏🏻
A Met Gala attendee in the past (although not present this year), Lili is a vocal advocate for mental health and has spoken openly about the industry pressures when it comes to beauty standards and expectations. Kim has not addressed the backlash at time of publication.