Kim Kardashian on her 16lbs Met Gala weight loss: 'I looked at it like a role'

Kim Kardashian has spoken out about reports that she broke the Marilyn Monroe dress that she wore to the Met Gala earlier this year, and revealed that she has continued to lose weight since her original transformation.

The reality TV star and fashion founder, 41, originally revealed that she had lost 16lbs (7kg) to fit into the iconic dress for the biggest fashion event of the year.

“I tried it on and it didn’t fit me,” Kardashian revealed in an interview on the Met Gala red carpet.

“I had to lose 16lbs to fit into it,” she told La La Anthony during Vogue's live coverage. “I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and carbs and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein.”

“I didn’t starve myself but I was so strict,” she added.

Read more: Marilyn Monroe’s JFK dress was 'damaged' when Kim Kardashian wore it to Met Gala

In an interview with The Today Show in New York on Tuesday, the mother-of-four revealed that her weight loss efforts have continued, following her Met Gala transformation.

Discussing her transformation for the star-studded event in May, Kardashian revealed that she looked at it “like a role”.

Read more: Watch Kim Kardashian tackle the Met Gala steps in Marilyn Monroe's £4m dress

“I really wanted to wear this dress, it was really important to me,” she told hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie.

The reality TV star revealed that her transformation hadn’t stopped there, and that she has continued to lose weight in the time since, dropping a further five pounds (approximately two kg) in weight.

Watch: 'I'm down 21 lbs now': Kim Kardashian has continued to lose weight since the Met Gala

Read more: Marilyn Monroe dress designer criticises Kim Kardashian's decision to wear it to Met Gala

“It actually taught me a lot about my lifestyle and my health,” she said in the interview. “Since then, afterwards, I continued to eat really healthy.”

“I’m down 21lbs now,” she revealed.

“I’m not trying to lose any more weight, but I have more energy than ever,” she added.

Read more: Critics slam Kim Kardashian’s rapid weight loss: 'Crash dieting is dangerous'

“I cut out so much sugar – a lot of junk food I was eating, I didn’t realise, like a lot of fried foods. And I just completely changed my lifestyle.”

The mum-of-four previously came under fire when she attended the Met Gala in Marilyn’s famous dress for promoting “dangerous” crash dieting.

Despite the backlash from fans and eating disorder advocates, the Skims founder later doubled down on her original comments, likening her situation to when film stars undergo transformations for roles.

“To me it was like, ‘Okay, Christian Bale can do it for a movie role and that is acceptable,’” the Kardashian told the New York Times. “Even Renée Zellweger gained weight for a role.”

Read more: Kim Kardashian was 'determined to fit' Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress for the Met Gala: 'I had to lose 16 pounds'

“It’s all the same to me,” she added.

The multi-hyphenate also responded to the claims that the 1962 Jean Louis designed dress had been left broken after she wore it to the Met Gala, denying harming the dress in any way.

“Ripley's, we worked together so well,” she said of the experience. “There were handlers with gloves who put it on me.”

“It was such a process,” she recalled. “I showed up to the red carpet in a robe and slippers and I put the dress on on the bottom of the carpet. I went up the stairs — I probably had it on for 3 minutes, 4 minutes. And then I changed [into a replica of the gown] right at the top of the stairs.”

“I was so happy to have that opportunity and that Ripley's gave me the opportunity to share this moment so that it could live on,” she added. “I respect her, I understand how much this dress means to American history, and the theme being American I thought, 'What is more American than Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to the President of the United States?'”