Emma Chamberlain, Kim Kardashian And Other Celebrities Who Created Controversies On The Red Carpet
Celebrities and controversies rarely stay apart, whether it’s their stance on trending topics or choices in red carpet looks. While red carpets around the world have served as a great medium for fashion inspiration and expression of style by celebrities and their stylists over the years, there have been several moments that have not gone down well, more for their problematic themes than them being fashion misses.
More recently, YouTuber Emma Chamberlain found herself in hot water over her choice of accessory at the Met Gala red carpet.
Chamberlain paired her Louis Vuitton outfit with a Cartier diamond choker that, reportedly, belonged to the Maharaja of Patiala Bhupinder Singh. The Internet promptly pointed out the unsavoury history of the piece of jewellery. Turns out, the choker was created by Cartier in 1928 for the royal and it contained 2,930 diamonds, including the world’s seventh-largest diamond as the centerpiece. It was lost from the treasury of Patiala during the British rule in India and was later discovered at a second-hand jewellery store in London. It was reacquired by Cartier and restored using replica stones and diamonds over the years. The outrage that followed her appearance on the red carpet was aimed towards the glorification of a stolen artifact from Indian history and the fact that the styling seemed ignorant and flippant.
Along with Chamberlain, Kim Kardashian also caused a stir with her red carpet look at the Gala this year for mostly wrong reasons.
The reality star wore an iconic piece of clothing once worn by Marylin Monroe, a beaded gown designed by Jean Louis that Monroe wore in 1962 as she sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to the then American president, John F. Kennedy, causing a scandal at the time. The controversy started when Kardashian admitted that she had to lose seven kgs in three weeks to fit into the dress by going on a strict diet. The revelation caused people to criticise Kardashian for promoting losing weight this intensely for just a look, especially when the celebrity has a massive following of young and impressionable people all over the world.
We decided to take a look back and list down all the controversial red carpet looks from celebrities over the years.
Celebrity Red Carpet Looks That Created Controversies On The Red Carpet
Lady Gaga’s Meat Dress
There’s hardly anybody on this planet who hasn’t heard or seen Lady Gaga’s infamous meat dress at the 2010 MTV VMAs, which was a dress made out of actual pieces of meat, in case it wasn’t obvious from the name of the dress. Designed by Franc Fernandez, and styled by Nicola Formichetti, the look was called out for being a statement against vegans and animal rights, with animal rights organisation PETA at the forefront of the protests. Lady Gaga, however, later clarified that the look was not meant to be disrespectful to anyone but a statement against the US government’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy that discriminated against LGBTQ+ soldiers in the US Army.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2021 Met Gala dress
When the Congresswoman decided to use one of fashion’s biggest nights to make a big political statement, it didn’t go down well with people. AOC wore a Brother Vellies gown with ‘Tax The Rich’ written in red on the back. While the intentions were appreciated, people claimed that it looked more performative than reformative, though a lot of people appreciated the effort.
Cara Delevingne’s 2021 Met Gala outfit
The supermodel wore a Dior outfit that had the words ‘Peg The Patriarchy’ written on the front. While Delevingne claimed the message stood for female empowerment and “sticking it to the man”, the creator of the phrase Luna Matatas had something different to say. The sexual pleasure coach claimed that she wasn’t credited for the phrase that has been trademarked by her and it was never intended to be used in the context that Delevingne used it in. It was originally supposed to be a message of sexual equality and sex education. Pegging has always been portrayed as a subversive sex position as it reversed traditional gender roles during sex. Matatas claimed that her intention with the phrase was not to use ‘pegging’ in an aggressive and violent context against men, when she doesn’t think patriarchy has a gender and is, rather, a system of oppression that affects us all.
Courtney Love’s 2000 Golden Globes gown
The musician wore a Christian Dior gown designed by John Galliano that is considered to be one of the most controversial dresses on the Golden Globes red carpet of all times. The gown was from Galliano’s contentious collection that was inspired by the homeless people living in Paris. It was, rightfully, called out for being out-of-touch and problematic.
Katy Perry’s 2015 Met Gala look
The Met Gala red carpet has played host to some of the most controversial looks of all times, as is evident by this list. Katy Perry’s 2015 Met Gala outfit by Moschino came under fire when street artist Joseph ‘Rime’ Tierney claimed that his artwork was placed on the dress without his knowledge or any credit given to him.
Scarlett Johansson’s 2018 Met Gala look
Another Met Gala look that caused a stir was Scarlett Johansson’s choice of designer for the red carpet in 2018. The Black Widow actress picked a Marchesa gown, despite the fact that the label was founded by Georgina Chapman, the wife of Harvey Weinstein. Johansson became the first high-profile celebrity to overtly support the designer after the Me Too allegations against the producer broke. The situation became even murkier after several celebrities, including Sienna Miller and Felicity Huffman, came forward to reveal how they were intimidated into wearing Marchesa gowns on the red carpet by Weinstein in the past.
Joy Villa’s 2019 Grammys look
Singer-songwriter Joy Villa became one of the most searched stars on Google post the 2019 Grammys after her pro-Trump look went viral. In the past, Villa has propagated her political views on the red carpet, including an anti-abortion dress and a gown emblazoned with Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan. At the 2019 Grammys, Villa wore a gown that had bricks painted on it and silver barbed wires on her shoulders, with ‘Build the Wall’ written across the back of the train.
