Controversial Blonde film slammed as ‘exploitation’ by Marilyn Monroe historian amid intense backlash: ‘She’s not even here to defend herself’-Rishma Dosani-Entertainment – Metro

Blonde has only been available on Netflix for a matter of days but the fictional movie about the life of Marilyn Monroe has already sparked huge amounts of backlash.

The adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ fictionalized novel was directed by Andrew Dominik, with Ana de Armas in the starring role alongside Adrien Brody, Sara Oaxton and Xavier Samuel.

However, it hasn’t gone down well with fans, who voiced their upset over ‘disgusting’ scenes – including one moment depicting the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes actress being raped by President John F Kennedy, and an alleged threesome.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk after the release, Monroe historian and acclaimed collector Scott Fortner agreed with the fury, slamming the depiction as disrespectful and exploitative.

‘I think the most important thing for people to remember and to know is that Blonde is a work of fiction,’ he said. ‘The author, Joyce Carol Oats, has created fictional situations and occurrences that aren’t necessarily true to Marilyn’s actual story, or her life.

‘What she did basically was use Marilyn’s story and create a fictional character based on the life of Marilyn, describing how it may have been for someone living in Hollywood at the time, [she] really, really straddled and blurred the lines between truth and fiction.

Marilyn Monroe died in 1962 at the age of 36 (Picture: Getty)

Ana portrayed the actress in Netflix flick Blonde (Picture: Netflix)

‘There’s no evidence of her ever having any abortions, there’s no evidence of a three-way with Chaplin Jr and Edward G Robinson Jr. [Oates] says in interviews, “I made it up”. She comments on it, she did take a lot of liberties in writing the novel.’

Oates’ book was released in 2000 and became a bestseller, but the writer made it clear from the outset that her words were a work of fiction and nothing more.

She emphasized this in the very first pages, adding a warning that it should be ‘read solely as a work of fiction’, and not as a biography of the Hollywood icon.

‘There was no disclaimer in the film,’ Fortner continued. ‘People are thinking that this is the true story of Marilyn’s life. It’s very unfortunate. I think it’s very exploitative and disrespectful, Marilyn is not even here to defend herself.

The portrayal has led to widespread backlash on social media (Picture: Netflix)

‘The concern is obviously that people are going to think that this is actually the true story of Marilyn Monroe when it’s not – and Edward G Robinson Jr and Charlie Chaplin, Jr.’

The historian, who boasts one of the largest private Monroe collections in the world, wasn’t surprised by any of the backlash that Blonde has received so far, telling us that it was ‘expected’ as the filmmaker went into the project with the intention of ‘shocking’ viewers.

A lot of the outrage has also stemmed from an ‘appalling’ scene showing the late star, who died in 1962, being haunted by a talking fetus after an abortion, with many suggesting that this is ‘anti-abortionist’.

‘There’s no record of Marilyn ever having abortions, she actually wanted children more than anything. She never said that she had an abortion, there’s no record of her ever having an abortion, there’s certainly no record of a ménage a trois …  All of this stuff is fabricated,’ he said.

‘When you have a scene where you’ve got Marilyn Monroe performing oral sex on President Kennedy… What is the point of that? What is the purpose of that? As the director has stated, the intent of the film is to shock. It’s really unfortunate that he’s had to use this book and the life of Marilyn Monroe just to create something for shock value.

‘It’s really exploitative and disrespectful, again, towards someone who’s not even here to defend herself. I think that, with the amount of effort that was put into this project, why couldn’t they have done a true biopic and tell the real story of Marilyn, which is interesting in and of itself?

Monroe collector Scott Fortner slammed the portrayal of Marilyn in Blonde (Picture: Netflix)

‘The success that she garnered, and her true story is interesting enough without all of these fabrications and mistruths.’

The aspect of Blonde that Fortner found most shocking if that they began filming on the exact day Monroe is thought to have died, and shot some footage in her actual properties, including the home where her body was eventually found.

He was also upset with the cast and crew going to her final resting place, in Los Angeles, to ‘ask permission’ to tell her story.

Marilyn has become one of the biggest names Hollywood has ever produced (Picture: Getty)

De Armas previously detailed their visit, explaining that they wrote messages to her in a card before placing it on her grave.

‘It was very distorted and disrespectful. It’s the epitome of exploitation, using someone who’s not even here and presenting her in such a negative way,’ he fumed. ‘The fact that they filmed in Marilyn Monroe’s house, the same location where Marilyn died, is utterly disrespectful and appalling, to me. They actually recreated the exact pose in which Marilyn was found after she had passed away.

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‘Recording and filming in Marilyn Monroe’s house, starting filming on August 4, actually going to Marilyn’s final resting place in Brentwood and posting a card on her crypt with messages from the casting crew, as Ana de Armas says, in a way asking permission to do this movie.

‘It’s ridiculous to think that somebody would go to Marilyn’s grave and post a message to her, asking permission to produce a film that portrays her in this way – multiple abortions, being raped, having sex with the President, involved in a ménage a trois, public sex in a film theatre. It’s ridiculous, it’s appalling.

‘If you have to come out in defense of something, of a product or a project that you have been so proud to have been part of, then it sends a message and means that you’ve probably missed the mark.’

Blonde is available to stream on Netflix now.

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