It’s been almost two months since Kim Kardashian stepped onto the red carpet at the Met Gala and became one of the most talked-about stars at the fashion event — and the talk continues.
But now, it's Kardashian herself who’s doing to the talking, as she addresses the backlash she's experienced since confessing that, in order to get into the historic Marilyn Monroe dress she wore that night, she underwent a drastic diet.
The reality star, 41, joined TODAY on Tuesday and reacted to criticism of her choice to lose weight quickly to wear the dress.
"I looked at like a role, and I really wanted to wear this dress. It was really important to me," she told TODAY co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.
She added that she's stuck with some of the lifestyle changes she made in order to fit into the gown.
"It actually taught me a lot about my lifestyle and my health, and since then, afterwards, I continued to eat really healthy," Kardashian said. "I'm down 21 pounds. Now, I'm not trying to lose any more weight, but I have more energy than ever. I cut out so much sugar, a lot of junk food I was eating (that) I didn't even realize, a lot of fried foods. ... I just completely changed my lifestyle."
Last month, the mother of four was criticized on social media when she revealed she’d lost 16 pounds in three weeks in order to squeeze into the formfitting gown Marilyn Monroe first donned while serenading President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
Asked about the controversy, she explained to The New York Times earlier this month: “To me it was like, OK, Christian Bale can do it for a movie role and that is acceptable. Even Renée Zellweger gained weight for a role. It’s all the same to me.”
Kardashian said the extreme effort to alter her measurements required wearing a sauna suit twice a day, running on a treadmill and completely cutting out carbs. But she stressed to the paper that it was all strictly business, just as it was for those actors she name-checked.
"I wasn’t saying, ‘Hey everyone, why don’t you go lose this weight in a short period of time?’” she told The Times.
Related: Is there a healthy way to lose weight quickly?
And it's a good thing she didn't say that.
“While these practices can trim off water weight, they’re not safe for everyone,” registered dietician Frances Largeman-Roth told TODAY. “Using a sauna suit can lead to dehydration, which could cause an individual to pass out. And these practices are definitely unsafe for anyone with a heart condition or diabetes."
Largemean-Roth added, "If you’re looking to lose weight, work with a registered dietitian to see how you can safely adjust your diet to drop pounds.”