Lupita Nyong’o Stolen Dress Found: Thief Stuffs $150,000 Oscar Gown In Trash Bag, Claims The 6000 Pearls Were Fake

The $150,000, pearl-studded dress worn by Lupita Nyong’o to the Oscars and then stolen from her hotel room this week has been returned. On Friday, the thief took the stunning gown back to The London West Hollywood hotel and called TMZ to confess the crime and reveal where the dress was located. The garment was stuffed into a garbage bag and left beneath the sinks in a bathroom next to the hotel’s fitness center.

Lupita Nyong’o Stolen Dress Found: Thief Stuffs $150,000 Oscar Gown In Trash Bag, Claims The 6000 Pearls Were Fake 1

Presumably out on the hunt for more cash, the culprit who took the expensive frock actually called TMZ to explain why he had delivered it back to the scene of the crime. According to him, he stole the dress from Nyong’o’s room when he noticed the door was left ajar.

Lupita Nyong’o Stolen Dress Found: Thief Stuffs $150,000 Oscar Gown In Trash Bag, Claims The 6000 Pearls Were Fake 2

After taking the Academy Award winner’s gown, he cut two pearls off the all-white number to be appraised but later found out that they weren’t real. He then hid the dress and its garment bag inside a trash bag before depositing it back at the hotel, stashing it inside the second floor bathroom adjacent to a fitness center.

NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpi

The burglar said that he called the website with the tip because he wanted the world to know “Hollywood’s fake bullshit.”

There are currently no suspects but cops are reviewing CCTV.

Apart from a few of the 6,000 pearls falling off, there is no damage to the dress, which Lupita, 31, wore for last Sunday’s ceremony, held in Hollywood.

LAPD’s Michael White said:

“Hotel staff searched and found the dress in a bag hidden behind a counter in the bathroom.

“A few smaller pearls appear to have fallen off the dress, but it seems to be intact.”

Lupita Nyong’o Stolen Dress Found: Thief Stuffs $150,000 Oscar Gown In Trash Bag, Claims The 6000 Pearls Were Fake 3

Investigators continued to pore over video and question people who may have had access to the room before the Wednesday disappearance.

Industry insiders countered the bandit’s claims — scoffing at the $150,000 price tag and putting its true value exponentially higher. Such dresses are typically worn once and then put on display in the designer’s archives, the insiders said.

Meanwhile the police is keeping the dress until either Lupita or a rep from Calvin Klein picks it up.

Anonymous says:
February 28, 2015 at 3:42 pm
It is a gorgeous dress. However a jeweler told me once how easy it is to figure out if pearls are real or not. You have to rub it against your tooth. If it feels smooth as glass it is fake. If you can tell there are little bumps in it , it is real. When I followed that advice at home it seems legit
Anonymous says:
February 28, 2015 at 3:44 pm
Real pearls or not, the price tag on this dress is $150,000. That's grand theft. Genius is looking at 1-3 in the CA state pen for this stupid stunt. If he (or she) was dumb enough to announce to the world he/she stole the dress, that person is dumb and/or careless enough to leave evidence that will help the police.
Anonymous says:
February 28, 2015 at 3:46 pm
NOT surprised. Hollywood is ALL fake, fake tan, fake boobies, fake butts, fake everything, it should actually be called HollyWEIRD.