Did Kim Kardashian receive fake lock of Marilyn Monroe's hair after Met Gala 2022?

Kim Kardashian was recently in the news after she donned Marilyn Monroe's gown and walked the red carpet at the Met Gala 2022 in style. It was later reported that the reality star was honoured with a lock of Monroe's blonde hair when she visited the Ripley's Believe It Or Not headquarters. However, Monroe historian Scott Fortner claimed that the hair was fake and shared proof of the same.

Is the lock of Marilyn Monroe's blonde hair gifted to Kim Kardashian fake?

Monroe historian Scott Fortner took to his social media account and wrote, "News Alert: Marilyn Monroe Hair Gifted to Kardashian by Ripley’s is Fake."

He shared a screenshot of another lock of the iconic celebrity's hair that was spotted in Kardashian's Met Gala dressing room. Ripley's originally claimed that the hair gifted to Kim was cut from Monroe's hair by Robert Champion, a popular hairstylist, ahead of her famous performance for President John F. Kennedy's birthday.

Fortner claimed that it was not Robert Champion who cut the hair, but Kenneth Battelle, and also presented proof as he posted a receipt from a beauty salon.

A representative from Ripley's who commented about the same to People, mentioned that the lock of hair gifted to the socialite was authentic, and was not the same as the hair seen in her dressing room ahead of the Met Gala 2022.

They mentioned that although the lock of hair may have not been cut by Champion, it was given to him by Marilyn Monroe. They also mentioned the clipping was authenticated by an expert in the field of hair collecting. They told People,

"Ripley's exhibit collection contains six different samples of Marilyn Monroe's hair, all authenticated and truly Marylin's. The hair gifted to Kim was given by Marilyn Monroe to Robert Champion. This clipping was authenticated by John Reznikoff, one of the most respected and trusted experts in the field of hair collecting."

Ripley's Believe It Or Not had earlier gifted the Kim a lock of Monroe's hair and she was over the moon. She called it 'special' as she hugged Ripley's staff. Ripley's captioned the post saying, "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.⁠"

Image: Instagram/@ripleysbelieveitornot, @kimkardashian