Bethenny Frankel: Anna Wintour cut Kardashians from Met Gala to ‘class it up’
Bethenny Frankel thinks Vogue boss Anna Wintour wants to “class” up the Met Gala 2023 red carpet by leaving the Kardashians’ names off the guest list.
On Friday, the “Real Housewives of New York City” alum reacted on TikTok to Page Six’s exclusive report that the Kardashians might not have made the cut for this year’s fête, theorizing that Wintour might be moving away from reality TV’s first family and back to “true fashion people.”
“Maybe [Wintour] got all the juice out of that lemon, and now she wants to class it up,” Frankel, 52, said.
Referring to the Kardashians as “unavoidable” at the “peak of their fame,” Frankel speculated that Wintour — to whom she affectionately referred to as the “HBIC” (Head Bitch in Charge) — invited the famous family to previous Met Galas as more of a business move to “sell magazines” than to showcase them as representatives of the fashion industry.
However, the tides are shifting and people want a “Kardashian intervention,” according to Frankel. She believes Wintour invited the family when the demand for their content was at an all-time high, but that people have now “gotten full of [the Kardashians].”
“We’re in a situation where people want a Kardashian cleanse,” Frankel said while sporting stylish black-rimmed glasses and a cozy gray turtleneck sweater.
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Frankel hypothesized that Wintour is making a move away from inviting big names, in a bid to “appeal to her base” of “true fashion people.”
“Maybe she has to appeal to her base, which is fashion — which is not Addison Rae and Kylie Jenner wearing a backwards baseball bat and a tutu and throwing money at the problem,” Frankel added, referencing the Kylie Cosmetics founder’s Off-White look from the 2022 gala.
The Skinnygirl CEO also theorized that Kim might have upset fashion insiders by wearing Marilyn Monroe’s iconic “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” gown to the 2022 Met Gala when it should have remained in a museum.
“A rich person can’t just go to the pyramids and decide to chisel off a piece of the pyramids because they have money and power,” Frankel said.
Frankel’s nearly 6-minute-long TikTok also addressed the relationship between the fashion industry and the mega-wealthy, insinuating that money, for some time, has allowed stars to purchase a piece of the style spotlight.
“I don’t see Anna Wintour wearing [head-to-toe logos] that seem like [they’re] for the masses,” Frankel said. “That’s for people that just want to participate and, like, show off and flex and pretend they’re fashionable.”
Further bashing Kim, Frankel added that the Skkn by Kim founder herself had “definitely spent money to play the fashion game.,” referring to Monroe’s dress and her recent purchase of Princess Diana’s cross necklace for $200,000.
Kim was the first make the exclusive guest list in 2013, when she attended alongside ex-husband Kanye West while pregnant with their first child. She’s since become one of the evening’s most anticipated (and headline-making) arrivals.
While Kendall, Kylie and Kris Jenner have all attended in the past, last year marked the first time all the Kardashian-Jenner women nabbed invites, with Khloé and Kourtney both gracing the hallowed carpet for the first time.
A source familiar with the Kardashians told Page Six the claim that they’re not invited to the 2023 gala is untrue.
