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Netflix’s Marilyn Monroe film Blonde has faced major criticism ever since the biographical fiction was released globally on September 28.
Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ 2000 novel of the same name, the film highlights the “complicated life” of the Hollywood legend. However, much of the story has received significant backlash for its controversial depiction of certain aspects of Monroe’s life.
Trigger Warning: The following article contains topics that may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
One such sequence from Blonde that sparked major online outrage is a questionable scene between Monroe (played by Ana de Armas) and a character dubbed as “the president” resembling John F Kennedy (played by Caspar Phillipson, who previously portrayed the role in Jackie).
During the scene, de Armas’ Monroe is shown being escorted to the president’s room by two Secret Service officials. She can also be heard asking:
“Am I meat to be delivered? Is this what it is? Room service?”
Shortly after, Monroe is shown inside the president’s room. The latter then signals the actress to sit on the bed before pushing her to perform an intimate act on him.
As the camera zooms into the protagonist’s face, the president can be heard speaking on the phone denying allegations of assaulting a gubernatorial aide and refuting claims of being involved in an inappropriate relationship with another staffer.
The scene also showed Marilyn Monroe’s character undergoing “dissociation” from the situation through an internal monologue in de Armas’ voice before being called “dirty s**t” by the president.
The now-infamous JFK scene from Blonde left several viewers disappointed and many took to social media to call out director Andrew Dominik for his vision:
this scene with jfk is actually insane… andrew dominik you’re going to hell #blonde https://t.co/OeDdIRhtIl
Although Marilyn Monroe once sparked romance rumors with President John F. Kennedy, none of the assumptions were ever confirmed.
Twitter reacts to Blonde’s controversial scene between Marilyn Monroe and JFK
Andrew Dominik’s biographical fiction Blonde has been at the centre of a heated debate due to its controversial depiction of Marilyn Monroe’s life.
Several viewers criticized the film for its alleged disturbing portrayal of concepts like assault, misogyny and abortion. A particular scene between de Armas’ Monroe and “the president” resembling John F. Kennedy sparked major backlash on social media.
Many also took to Twitter to call out the scene for being “unnecessary” and accused the creator of alleged “character assassination”:
As criticism continues to pour in online, it remains to be seen if the cast and crew members will respond to the general reaction to the JFK scene.
However, actress Ana de Armas recently defended the bold scenes in Blonde and told Entertainment Weekly that she felt “safe” during the filming process:
“It’s harder for people to watch [those scenes] than for me to make them, because I understood what I was doing and I felt very protected and safe.”
She further added:
“I didn’t feel exploited because I was in control. I made that decision. I knew what the movie was doing. I trusted my director. I felt like I was in a safe environment.”
Blonde is currently streaming on Netflix for viewers across the globe.
