Christian McCaffrey isn’t standing for any negativity against his wife, Olivia Culpo. On Wednesday, the San Francisco 49ers star, 28, came to his wife’s defense in the comments section under a video taking aim at her Dolce & Gabbana wedding gown.
On Tuesday, social media influencer Kennedy Bingham shared a video on Instagram and TikTok where she criticized Culpo’s wedding dress, from the structure to the controversial designers. For the big day, Culpo, 32, wore a white gown by Dolce & Gabbana that featured long sleeves, a crepe crew neck, and a 16-foot lace veil.
In the video, Bingham disagreed with the way that Culpo described her dress as “modest” and ultimately believes that the gown was “nothing,” noting that it had an “absence of personality.” Furthermore, she went on to claim that the former Miss Universe and running back were pushing a conservative agenda.
“It’s very clear that this was not a wedding,” Bingham said at the end of her video. “This was a conservative campaign, and it wasn’t even well done. You took this disingenuous pick-me route that honestly felt more like you were thinking about your narrative than your actual marriage.”
McCaffrey was not impressed. “What an evil thing to post online,” he wrote in the comments. “I hope you can find joy and peace in the world, the way my beautiful wife does.”
Culpo also took to the comments to defend her dress and her stance in a back-and-forth with Bingham. “Wow, what an absolutely evil person you are,” she wrote in a screenshot shared by the creator. “I hope no one ever tears you apart in this way because it’s extremely hurtful. I love this dress and it was everything I ever wanted and more.”
Culpo also returned to the comments to clarify another one of the creator’s claims—that she lied about getting eyebrow enhancements during her wedding day. “Also, no, I do not have eyebrow lamination or lash extensions. I’m sorry that infuriates you.”
Culpo and McCaffrey tied the knot over the weekend during a romantic ceremony in the model’s hometown of Rhode Island. The model took to Instagram to celebrate her big day and her dream dress with a series of photos. “One more for the dress of my dreams,” she wrote. “Thank you @dolcegabbana for executing my vision perfectly. I cried the first time I tried it on. From the very first sketch, this was it for me. My dream dress.”
In 2022, prior to their dreamy 2023 engagement, Culpo gushed about the NFL superstar to ET. “He’s just the best, I feel like he is really everything that I could ever ask for,” she said at the time. “So I never have to worry about anything.”
It’s been several days since Olivia Culpo donned a very traditional wedding gown to marry San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey—and explained to Vogue magazine that she didn’t want the custom Dolce & Gabbana dress to “exude sex.” But the dress, and Culpo’s reasons for wearing it to her and McCaffrey’s lavish Rhode Island wedding Saturday, are creating a stir online.
Specifically, McCaffrey and Culpo have spent what should be their honeymoon engaging in an online war with a style influencer, who went on a social media rant about Culpo’s dress on Tuesday. The Los Angeles-based stylist, Kennedy Bingham, said in a now-viral video posted to Instagram and TikTok that Culpo’s simple, long-sleeved gown lacked “personality” and suggested it was modest in a disturbing way, as if the bride was pushing “a conservative agenda” and she and her groom weren’t participating in a wedding but in “a conservative campaign.”
“Wow, what an absolutely evil person you are,” the model and former Miss Universe wrote in response to Bingham’s video. Among other things, neither Culpo nor McCaffrey are known to speak out about politics or any particular agenda. “I hope no one ever tears you apart in this way because it’s extremely hurtful,” Culpo continued. “I love this dress and it was everything I ever wanted and more.”
McCaffrey also called Bingham’s post “evil.” The NFL star said, “I hope you can find joy and peace in the world, the way my beautiful wife does.”
The world got to see multiple images of Culpo’s gown, thanks to Vogue magazine, which photographed the wedding at a historic resort in Rhode Island and published a series of photos online on Monday. The photos showed that Culpo’s gown was in a modest style, with long sleeves, a high crew neck, a voluminous skirt, and a button-lined back, as Vogue magazine reported. Culpo wore the gown with a 16-foot lace veil and 15-carat De Beers diamond earrings.
“I didn’t want it to exude sex in any way, shape, or form,” Culpo told Vogue. “I wanted it to feel effortless and as if it’s complementing me, not overpowering me. There’s so much beauty and simplicity.”
At the start of her video, Bingham clarified that she initially had no problem with the dress or with a bride wanting to dress modestly on her wedding day. It was comments that Culpo made to Vogue about her dress that left “a bitter aftertaste,” she said. “The way that she was talking about this went beyond just wanting something modest for herself and pushing this idea of what she thinks all brides should look like,” Bingham said, adding, “What you wear on your wedding day has almost nothing to do with whether or not you’re going to have a long and happy marriage.”
Bingham also expressed other misgivings about the dress, saying it had “no personality.” She compared it unfavorably to “gorgeous,” modest wedding gowns worn by other famous brides, such as Paris Hilton, Miranda Kerr, or Lily Collins.
Bingham, moreover, questioned why Culpo chose Dolce & Gabbana to design her “covered-up” gown, given that the design house “is not known for its modesty.” Bingham also called out Dolce & Gabbana for its history of racism, homophobia, and body shaming.
On Wednesday, Bingham said on Instagram Story that Culpo had blocked her, though only after the model posted additional replies to her criticism. With regard to Bingham’s criticism of Dolce & Gabbana, Culpo asked, “Are you saying I’m racist, homophobic, and misogynistic because of my wedding dress? So the millions of people who wear DG are all racist and homophobic? What a bizarre human you are.”
Bingham replied, “I’m not saying YOU’RE anything. I’m saying that your actions allude to a certain mindset that you aren’t doing anything to contradict.”
While some people joined Culpo and McCaffrey in criticizing Bingham for her “hurtful” comments about someone’s wedding day, others agreed with her lack of enthusiasm for Culpo’s dress or her distaste for the model’s comments to Vogue. On TikTok, someone told Bingham, “Yes, call her out!” “All she needed to say was she was looking for something simple and modest but she had to make it all righteous,” someone else said, while another pointed out that the dress was not appropriate for the setting—a coastal town in the summer. “You’re spot on with your assessment.”
In the end, Culpo followed a current bridal trend for her wedding day. She changed her outfit multiple times, wearing a different white dress to the dinner reception and yet another outfit for a raucous-looking after-party. And, according to images Culpo posted on her Instagram, she eschewed modesty for her after-party look, donning a silk bodysuit with bustier top and a “mini-cage” skirt, which allowed her to show cleavage, shoulders, and legs.
“I actually liked the after-party dress the most because the other two were so underwhelming,” someone told Bingham on her TikTok. But the revealing nature of the after-party dress left this person “confused, with the comments she made.”
Source: Ethan Miller/Getty Images, TikTok, Instagram
