Audrey Hepburn’s son speaks out after Ivanka Trump’s inauguration tribute to his mother
Audrey Hepburn’s eldest son has spoken out about Ivanka Trump’s tribute to his mother at Donald Trump’s inauguration ball – and suggested her politics were not aligned with the Trumps.
The First Daughter, 43, danced on stage with her husband, Jared Kushner, 44, at the Liberty Ball in Washington, D.C. on Monday evening.
Despite being a bit old to do a special little show for her dad’s dinner party guests, Ivanka certainly grabbed attention in a recreation of a Hubert de Givenchy gown that was originally designed for Audrey Hepburn in the 1954 film Sabrina.
The dress, which is strapless with black-and-white floral motifs, was paired with white gloves when Audrey wore it. Ivanka decided to add her own twist and wear black gloves instead, as well as a Leviev floral diamond necklace.
In the 48 hours of his presidency, Trump has signed 200 executive orders including renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, repealing a ban on drilling for oil in the Arctic, and pardoning January 6 attackers.
As a result, those who fear that America is descending quickly into fascism were angry to see Ivanka’s homage to Audrey, who was known for her supporting humanitarian causes.
X user @holyspacemonkey wrote: ‘Ivanka Trump wore a replica of Audrey Hepburn’s iconic gown from “Sabrina” to the inaugural ball last night. It was also the anniversary of the day Audrey died in 1993. I am LIVID. Ivanka desecrated the most dearly held values of fiercely anti-fascist, WW2 survivor Audrey.’
@robbgirlnumber3 posted: ‘A feeble imitation at best. Ivanka is not a fraction of the exceptional Audrey Hepburn.’
@jen65180 agreed: ‘Nothing and no couture dress will ever make Ivanka Trump classy. She is the exact opposite of everything that Audrey Hepburn stood for during her lifetime.’
In a statement, the White House said Ivanka was ‘honored’ to pay homage to Audrey who has ‘long been a personal inspiration to Ivanka.’
Audrey’s son Sean Hepburn Ferrer, 64, said he wasn’t surprised by the homage, as his family and the Trumps go way back.
‘It is no wonder that growing up in a family which knew our mother as a household name she chose to draw inspiration from her, to seek the ultimate elegance and class reference, for an occasion such as this one – the inauguration and the 32nd anniversary of our mother’s passing and, most of all, Martin Luther King’s day,’ he told DailyMail.com exclusively. ‘What a cocktail!’
He recalled how Trump’s second wife, Marla Ann Maples, sat on the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund advisory board in the early 1990s.
Sean continued to say Audrey’s image of elegance and class is an ‘anchor’ for many famous people.
‘Over the past 71 years her legacy has grown to become transgenerational and transnational,’ he said.
‘Her elegance, which has its roots in her inner beauty and spirit, is often a reference point, an anchor, for many celebrities, actresses and models in these times in which we appear to have somewhat lost our way.’
He also said his mother, who was famously a UNICEF ambassador, ‘fought on behalf of the disenfranchised children worldwide regardless of the ideological environment in which they were born in.’
While he didn’t directly condemn Ivanka’s choice to evoke his mother in the shadow of an administration that many fear will leave them with fewer human rights, he did suggest her outlook was more in line with Marianne Budde.
Budde is the left-wing Episcopal Bishop of Washington who recently went viral for giving a stirring sermon beseaching the President to consider the common humanity of all kinds of people.
Audrey Hepburn’s son speaks out after Ivanka Trump’s inauguration tribute to his mother