Salma Hayek Credits Karl Lagerfeld For Her Met Gaga Dress, Despite Backlash

Actress Salma Hayek is crediting the late German fashion designer, Karl Lagerfeld, for the red Gucci dress that she wore to the Met Gala on Monday night.

The late creative director passed away on February 19, 2019, from pancreatic cancer. Although Salma thought she was sharing a touching tribute, the comment did not sit well with fans due to previous remarks that Karl had made about women.

On Monday night, the “House of Gucci” took to Instagram to share a photo that featured her standing in front of her hotel window in her Gucci garb. She gave fans a good look at her strapless red dress, which included four rows of pearls that were wrapped around her upper arms.

The long gown was tied at the waist with a red sash and featured sparkling layers that trailed down onto the floor behind her. In the caption, Salma wrote, “For you Karl” and repeated “Para ti Karl” alongside a black heart emoji. However, this did not sit well with some fans.

“This is what Karl said: he told the German magazine Focus in a 2009 interview that ‘no one wants to see curvy women,’ YOU ARE CURVY BEAUTIFUL WOMAN so what kind of msg are you sending with all this,” one fan commented.

“Karl Lagerfeld, fatphobic and one of the main characters who attacked the #METOO movement, a movement Salma actively defended. I don't understand the contradiction of dedicating such a beautiful dress to him. She so beautiful and unique,” another follower commented.

Another user even went as far as to call Karl “a pretty vile human being when he was alive.” Another follower remarked, “Karl? The man that wouldn't dress women your size? Gurl, disappointed.” Another fan agreed, writing, “Not to mention his criticism of the MeToo movement which she was part of. I don’t understand any of this.”

“EXACTLY! It’s wild. I’m starting to think that she doesn’t even care about the things that don’t affect her. Marrying a billionaire was one of the things that clued us in,” another follower shared. “He said Heidi Klum’s chest was too big to be a model. So… I think people are right in pointing out the hypocrisy of this event this year. He was for sure a talented man but there was no reason to pay tribute to him this way,” another user added.

It’s possible that the “From Dusk Till Dawn” actress saw the comments, as she took to Instagram on Tuesday morning to share a video compilation featuring some of her highlights from the night. In the caption, she explained how Karl Lagerfeld was the inspiration behind her red dress.

In the caption, she wrote, “Karl Lagerfeld always liked me in red so thank you @gucci for creating this dress to celebrate his legacy. Ps. Thank you Valentina for your great ideas in the designing and styling process.”

She repeated the message again in Spanish, writing, “A Karl Lagerfeld siempre le gustaba como me veía de rojo. así que gracias @gucci por crear este vestido para celebrar su legado.

PD. Gracias Valentina por tus ingeniosas ideas en el proceso de diseño y estilismo.”

Although she has received a lot of praise for her dress, some fans are still frustrated that she would promote Karl Lagerfeld in spite of his negative comments about women. “Karl Lagerfeld should not be celebrated, his words against women were detrimental and demeaning,” one user commented.

An article from The Guardian agreed that society should stop putting Karl on a pedestal, calling him “notoriously fatphobic, anti-immigrant, possibly homophobic and, many would say – despite his slew of famous muses – low-key misogynistic.”

They pointed out that the late creative director of Chanel once said that he was “fed up” with the #MeToo movement and questioned the credibility of women who came forward at the time. In a 2009 interview, he even said that “no one wants to see” plus-size models before calling Adele “a little too fat.” Although he later apologized for his remark about the “Rolling in the Deep” singer, it has still made many question the merit of his "legacy."