Did Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Reference RBG at Trump’s Inauguration?

Ketanji Brown Jackson caught the attention of eagle-eyed social media sleuths on Inauguration Day 2025 after accessorizing her judicial robes in what appears to be a reference to another member of the highest court in the country at Donald Trump’s inauguration.

On Monday, Jan. 20, Justice Brown, appointed to the Supreme Court in 2022 by President Joe Biden, wore a large cowrie shell necklace over her robes at the Capitol Rotunda. Many online flagged the fashion choice as reminiscent of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s famous dissent collars.

🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬

The trailblazing judge was only the second woman to sit on the United States Supreme Court. She and Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, “thought it would be appropriate if we included as part of our robe something typical of a woman,” she told The Washington Post in 2009, noting that the male justices’ shirt collars and ties were visible when wearing their robes.

One of Ginsburg’s collars became known as her “dissent collar,” as she wore it when she was particularly at odds with the Supreme Court’s majority decision. She told NPR in 2002, “Dissents speak to a future age. It’s not simply to say, ‘My colleagues are wrong and I would do it this way.’ But the greatest dissents do become court opinions and gradually over time their views become the dominant view. So that’s the dissenter’s hope: that they are writing not for today but for tomorrow.”

Related: Melania Trump’s Inauguration Day Outfit Draws Bold Comparisons to a Fictional Character

Brown’s statement necklace and matching earrings at Trump’s inauguration were immediately compared to Ginsburg’s dissent collar, with one person on X (formerly Twitter) writing, “Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is wearing a white statement necklace reminiscent of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s famous dissent collar.” More wondered, “Is Justice Jackson wearing her version of the dissent doiley?”

A third agreed, commenting, “Ketanji Brown Jackson channels RBG today and I'm here for it!” while another chimed in to say, “Thank you Ketanji Brown Jackson for your nod to Ruth Bader Ginsburg - who would be horrified of what has happened to SCOTUS.”

Others saw a special significance in the cowrie shells themselves, writing, “Justice Jackson's cowrie shell collar is making a statement. I don't know for sure, but given the shell is full of significance in African spirituality - seen as bringing good fortune and warding off negative energy - gotta suspect there was some conscious choice here.”

Not all comments were positive, with some people tweeting that they didn’t feel the necklace was appropriate. “I actually really like Justice Jackson's necklace from afar... but puka shells??? At a formal ceremony???,” asked one tweet.

Another agreed, writing, “Ketanji Brown Jackson needs to loose [sic] the necklace. You are a Justice, not a fashion show.”

Next: Donald Trump's Daughter Ivanka's Inauguration Day 2025 Outfit Compared to Handmaid's Tale Character