When the people behind the Let-Them-Eat-Cake orgy of excess known as the Met Gala announced 2023’s event would honor the late designer Karl Lagerfeld, the natural question was whether Choupette would show up.
The Birman cat with striking blue eyes was the German fashion designer’s most beloved muse, and he was so besotted with her that he included her in almost everything he did.
If Lagerfeld wasn’t photographing the fluffy feline in the arms of the world’s best known supermodels or bringing her as his plus-one to fashion world events, he was pining for her presence: she was his favorite subject in interviews, for which he had no shortage of superlatives to describe her.
Initially the plan was not only to include Choupette in the Met Gala fundraiser honoring the memory of her “daddy,” but also to pair her with that timeless icon of taste and high culture, Kim Kardashian.
So Kardashian, working with Choupette’s agent (yes, she really does have one), traveled to Paris to meet with the imperious kitty.
It did not go well.
The organizers think Choupette did not like the sound of Kardashian’s synth leather jacket, but I like to think the pampered puss found Kardashian too artificial even for the circles she and her late human moved in.
Regardless, after several bouts of prolonged hissing and a lunging attempt at clawing the reality TV star, both parties called a halt and decided Choupette would not be attending the gala.
This detail, along with other interesting tidbits, were revealed in a story published by The Atlantic today.
The lengthy article provides a little more background on how Lagerfeld was instantly converted into a cat servant, as well as a breakdown of the situation involving Lagerfeld’s will.
In short, while everyone in the know agrees Lagerfeld did put aside a considerable sum for his beloved feline’s continued care and comfort, a tax dispute between the French government and his estate has effectively frozen disbursement of Lagerfeld’s money, assets and real estate.
An expensive piece of property owned by Lagerfeld is in Monaco, attorneys for his estate contend. French authorities naturally disagree, insisting it’s technically in France, which means there’s a substantial back tax owed.
French law does not allow animals to inherit money, so the sum Lagerfeld intended for Choupette was willed to her caregiver. Not a single Euro has been paid out as lawyers haggle over the tax issue.
Choupette isn’t on the street or anything close to a pauper. She remains in the care of Lagerfeld’s longtime maid, Françoise Caçote, who was the feline’s primary caretaker in the German designer’s absence. They live in a comfortable apartment in Paris, where Choupette eats and naps well, and is watched over by Caçote, her husband and children.
Media reports of a vast fortune, a personal chef serving up gourmet cat food and a round-the-clock team of professional pamperers do not reflect reality, but Choupette doesn’t care.
“The most important thing is that she’s happy, surrounded by love and affection, and protected as Karl would have wanted,” Caçote told The Atlantic’s Chris Heath.
For Choupette, that’s all that matters. Max Renneisen, a German artist who has painted portraits of Choupette, pointed out our remarkable ability to turn animals into anthropomorphic characters. (A sin I’ve never been guilty of, obviously. Little Buddy dictates his musings and I merely serve as stenographer.)
“All the fuss we do about her, all this concept of celebrity, giving a meaning to her, everything—this is us, for the humans,” Renneisen observed. “Choupette is not a diva. She’s a cat, and we want to see the diva in her.”
Pain In The Bud 
Cats know!!! Cannot stomach the Kartrashians.
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Choupette hated KK on sight. I approve of this message!
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People would accuse us of being jealous because of their wealth. Nope. I WORK for my money. Have been since the age of 16.
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Their wealth is built on infamy from releasing sex tapes, accumulated by grifting teenage girls and young women with branded credit cards with super predatory interest rates, and products manufactured in Chinese sweatshops.
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“Their wealth is built on infamy from releasing sex tapes, accumulated by grifting teenage girls and young women with branded credit cards with super predatory interest rates, and products manufactured in Chinese sweatshops.”
Kris K. is the one that pushed using Kim’s sex tape with Ray J. (Brandi’s -from Moesha- brother for those who don’t know) for fame. Good GOD, how bad do you have to be to do that to your kid?? That family is sick!
Also gotta add, Choupette knows class when it walks into a room, and she definitely didn’t see it the day KK walked in. Karl taught her well. Good girl Choupette!!!
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I’m the furthest thing from a Kardashian expert, but didn’t Kim K work as an assistant for Paris Hilton and just copied her route to “fame”? Of course that doesn’t mean the Kardashian matriarch didn’t orchestrate it. That family probably has monetization plans for the next three generations of their offspring.
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@BigBuddy:
“I’m the furthest thing from a Kardashian expert, but didn’t Kim K work as an assistant for Paris Hilton and just copied her route to “fame”? Of course that doesn’t mean the Kardashian matriarch didn’t orchestrate it. That family probably has monetization plans for the next three generations of their offspring.”
I’m no Kardashian fan or expert either, but I watched a lot of Talk Soup and E news in the 90’s (God help me!) and I don’t think so. Paris Hilton and Kim were best buds and had a falling out. Kris Jenner admitted she was the one that put into motion to use that tape for fame. She said it herself which absolutely shocked the hell outta me. Really? You’re married to Bruce Jenner and you were married to a rich lawyer prior to that. How much money do you need? Here’s a link to one article: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/kris-jenner-no-regrets-helping-kim-kardashian-sell-203655042.html
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“Uh, sorry Kim, it must be your, uh, jacket. Yeah, that’s it! She doesn’t like your jacket.”
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Yes. And a child who is fast becoming a disgusting adult allowed on social media and attacking adults.
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Who’s that?
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And the jacket was cruelty-free! Maybe Chouppette didn’t care for Kim’s parfum?
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Maybe I will ask Little Buddy to do a Part Two of his scent reviews and put some perfumes on the list in addition to colognes.
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Of course, Choupette is a diva. All cats are divas. She probably knew that Kim K would never let her get al the attention she deserved at the Met Gala
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I find her dislike for KK odly satisfying.
And I love the vision of her in a Paris apartment, looking out over the beautiful city like a queen.
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I recently found out that the manager of the supermarket I work at, while far far down the wealth tree from Karl Lagerfeld, also has a cat he’s obsessed with.
One of the girls I work with reported to me that one of her lunch breaks this week was spent looking at all cat videos he has on his phone.
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Awwww. I would’ve loved to spend my lunch break that way. People showing off their pets and telling me stories about them, there’s nothing better in my book. It would also give me a chance to whip out my phone and show off my cute kitties too. A total win-win!
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All it takes is one cat to convert us, then we’re cat servants for life.
I’m glad the ridiculous social stigma concerning men and cats is fading.
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I never understood that to begin with. It’s the same thing with a big guys and small dogs. We had a mini weenier named Sassy and she was Daddy’s girl and pretty Princess. I was the hired help. My husband who’s 6’4″, would get pointed at and laughed at every time we’d go out and he was walking her. He never let it bother him. He’s had to deal with “small man syndrome” so little dog crap talk was nothing. We also had the CUTEST dog in town, so everyone else could just piss off! 😂
We’ve had cats now for the last 15 yrs. and he’s just as into them as he was to our Sassy.
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My bro heard that sort of thing occasionally when walking his dog as well.
It’s weird. Like, what, if you don’t have a big, drooling pit bull, you’re not manly? It’s like people who keep big cats as pets. That doesn’t make you tough or masculine, it makes you Joe Exotic or Doc Antle.
Same with people who drive Humvees and other huge SUVs/trucks.
The need to externalize self worth or perceived masculinity is indicative of a problem, not the other way around.
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Kardashian: What’s to like. Choupette’s one smart feline.
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More proof that she’s happy without all the fuss, like any other cat.
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Notice how comfortable Choupette is with Linda Evangalista? One of the most beautiful women on the planet.
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Choupette has never before entered my field of vision (I live a very sheltered life!). She plainly never allowed her A-List lifestyle to distract her from what it means to be a cat.
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You mean you don’t follow that paramount pillar of our civilization, the world of high fashion?! Haha. I’m pretty sure I learned of Choupette (and Karl Lagerfeld) in one of those “wealthiest animals” clickbait listicles, which invariably include influencer pets and Taylor Swift’s cats, who are each worth the GDP of a small developing nation.
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“It’s weird. Like, what, if you don’t have a big, drooling pit bull, you’re not manly? It’s like people who keep big cats as pets. That doesn’t make you tough or masculine, it makes you Joe Exotic or Doc Antle.”
Exactly. I mean, if they think it’s signaling that they’re “manly”, they’re sorrily mistaken. Most women (and I would think gay men too) look at them as a joke, definitely NOT masculine. But I suppose it comes from the fact that men have been indoctrinated for so long that they can’t be an emotional human being, that they have to be a soulless automaton to be considered masculine. But, I could be wrong.
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I think you’re right. Bill Burr has an interesting bit about that, explaining that his theory for men having shorter lives than women is because we go through life bottling our emotions up.
That’s definitely more of a boomer/pre-boomer attitude, though it still exists.
The worst are those guys who rip on any man showing emotion, but they’ll cry while watching saccharine sports movies like Brian’s Song and Rudy.
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@ BigBuddy
I feel stupid for the last answer I just wrote. I misread what you said and I’m an idiot. So, just ignore that comment and feel free to NOT put it up.
I think you might live a shorter life because repressed emotions and not coping well with stress, but also because your family history. And that goes for both sexes. And now days, you also have to add environmental factors into the mix too. We didn’t have all the chemicals in the air, food etc. when I was growing up, so they don’t affect me much. But kids born after say 1990, they really have to be mindful of this. It affects growing kids more than adults and who knows what it’s been doing to their bodies all their lives.
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I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it but I kept it in the queue and won’t publish it unless you change your mind.
And i hope it goes without saying, but I welcome anyone who has a different view and would never be bothered by disagreement.
The only reason I keep the moderation on comments is to stop the crazies from posting about how much they love hurting cats. I realize they’re trolling but attention is their air, so it’s best to keep their comments from appearing.
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Her 12 year old attacked Taylor Swifts music in defense of her father. Not a fan of ANY music these days but she learned the hard way with the Swifties. Daughter is carbon copy of her shitty parents.
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HAHA! I love that. I’m not a Taylor Swift fan, but her music isn’t that bad and her fans are rabid for her. If I were North, or whatever the hell her name is, I wouldn’t be defending my Dad. I’d be trying to distance myself from him. If she wants to talk shit music, she should look closer to home. Why anyone listens to or buys his crap is beyond me.
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Hi Carmen. I am old school with certain genres of music. Old days of rap was fun to listen to. Like The Breaks by Kurtis Blow. I call todays RAP CRAP. All i care about Swift is she donates her money to charities. Not a bad singer but not my cup of tea. I love the oldies. And i don’t approve of a child being attacked. That is the fault of her shitty parents.
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Speaking of the Kartrashians i just read one of them declawed her two cats! She said she was misinformed. BULLSHIT!!
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