Kim Kardashian’s celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton poke out after revealing he charged a jaw-dropping $200,000 for past services, which sparked fans roasting her Met Gala look.
The 42-year-old stylist – who counts Jennifer Lopez and Kris Jenner among his clients – first addressed the enormous fee on a January episode of the U Up? podcast.
‘Like 100K, but that was to travel and stuff,’ he explained. ‘That was a whole situation.’
A day after fans roasted Kardashian’s tousled blonde locks at Monday’s Met Gala, dubbing them a ‘rat’s nest,’ Appleton revealed on the Great Company With Jamie Laing podcast that the past fee was much higher.
‘It was $200,000,’ he revealed. ‘But I said 100 because I was afraid of what everyone would say. I said it, and then I was scared.’
He went on to defend his work, insisting, ‘There’s plenty of times I do work for free. There’s plenty of times I don’t get paid that amount of money.’
Kim Kardashian ’s celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton poke out after revealing he charged a jaw-dropping $200,000 for past services, which sparked fans roasting her Met Gala look
A day after fans roasted Kim’s tousled blonde locks at Monday’s Met Gala, dubbing them a ‘rat’s nest,’ Appleton revealed on the Great Company With Jamie Laing podcast that the past fee was much higher
‘It was $200,000,’ he revealed of his past fee, adding ‘But I said 100 because I was afraid of what everyone would say. I said it, and then I was scared’
It’s unclear how much Kardashian actually paid Appleton for her Met Gala look, but she showed off his work in a behind-the-scenes video for fans.
Appleton later explained how the $200,000 fee added up, without disclosing who actually paid it.
‘It was a lot of traveling and it was a whole commitment,’ he said. ‘So when you break it down, it’s not as much. Also 50 percent tax in America – that’s half. And then your agent takes 20 percent, and your business manager takes five.’
He offered a similar explanation back in January on the U Up? podcast, pointing out that his net earnings shrink considerably after taxes and other deductions.
The podcast comes after fans took to social media to roast Kardashian’s Met Gala hair and react to Appleton’s recent $200,000 fee revelation.
One Reddit critic wrote, ‘Hairstylist who has a 200k fee and her hair still looked like a rats nest… being poor saves me.’
Another chimed in, ‘Dude I make my own hair look like a rats nest… Can I pay myself $200k???’
One posted, ‘She could have just stuck her finger in an electric socket and achieved the same result. Saved 200K.’
It’s unclear how much Kardashian actually paid Appleton for her Met Gala look, but she showed off his work in a behind-the-scenes video for fans
Appleton went on to defend his work, insisting, ‘There’s plenty of times I do work for free. There’s plenty of times I don’t get paid that amount of money’
And another added, ‘Wtf does a ‘Hair Stylist’ need a business manager & an agent?’
Appleton recently admitted he still struggles with his own form of imposter syndrome, despite his A-list clientele and jaw-dropping fees.
‘We all have that self-doubt,’ he told People in January. ‘Every job I do, I’m always still a little nervous. I’m always a little anxious, still.
‘Every video I post on Instagram or TikTok, I’m always a little apprehensive.’
He added, ‘I like that to an extent because it is healthy. I never want to be arrogant and think, “Oh, I know it all,” because I really don’t. No one does. I think that’s bulls***.’
Meanwhile, Kardashian’s Met Gala ensemble was turning heads almost as much as her hair.
She stunned in a sculpted orange fembot creation by British artists Allen Jones and Whitaker Malem.
The striking breastplate was spray-painted at a Kent car bodyshop, MPS Body And Paint, by owner Martyn Smith, who was sworn to secrecy.
The podcast comes after fans took to social media to roast Kardashian’s Met Gala hair and react to Appleton’s recent $200,000 fee revelation
Smith, 55, told the BBC he was approached by Malem and Whitaker because he had sprayed their cars in the past.
‘I’d repaired and painted their car for them. They turned up here one day, asked me if I would basically paint this,’ he explained.
‘I had 24 hours to do it in and it meant I had to drop some work to do it, but I thought what an honor and a pleasure, as well as a job, to do it,’ he added.
Smith said he only realized who it was for when the designers came to collect it and was then sworn to secrecy.
Kardashian traveled to England twice for fittings, with the entire ensemble taking three weeks to complete.
She was so thrilled with the final result that she called the designers personally.
‘She phoned us herself, we’ve only ever dealt with her and she’s very, very amenable. She wore it fantastically well. I thought it looked just as good on her as it did the day I finished it, if not better,’ Smith said.
