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.