Netflix’s Blonde has been under fire since its release on the streaming platform after viewers felt it is unwatchable for its disgusting scenes without even indicating what is real and what isn’t. A Marilyn Monroe historian, Scott Fortner, slammed Blonde for these. Speaking with Metro.co.uk, Scott Fortner expressed his disdain on Blonde, “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.” He raises his concern over what message would come across the people watching Blonde, “There was no disclaimer in the film.” Fortner added, “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.”
Fortner emphasized that the movie is fictional, “I think the most important thing for people to remember and to know is that Blonde is a work of fiction. The author, Joyce Carol Oates, has created fictional situations and occurrences that aren’t necessarily true to Marilyn’s actual story, or her life.” Fortner questions the choice of story for Blonde, “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?” “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,” Fortner exclaimed.
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Fortner closed the statement on what makes him furious about Blonde, “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.” Fortner isn’t the only one who called out Blonde as actress Emily Ratajkowksi also did the same on her TikTok account calling the film as something that “fetishizes female pain,” something that didn’t sit well with her.
Netflix’s Blonde is based on the novel of Joyce Carol Oates depicting the life of Marilyn Monroe in fiction. The movie is an official candidate of this year’s Venice Film Festival where it even received a 14-minute standing ovation. Andrew Dominik is the director of the film starring Ana De Armas as the iconic Marilyn Monroe and it has since been controversial after it has been given an NC-17 rating, the first for a Netflix original film, for the scenes which tackle sensitive topics. The topics include Marilyn Monroe dealing with sexual abuse, drugs, rape, abortion, depression, and suicide. There is no warning before the film starts whether it is a true story and not even a trigger warning for the sensitive topics it depicted. Netflix’s Blonde is currently on the streaming platform.
