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Viewers have been left horrified over a scene in the new Marilyn Monroe Netflix movie Blonde starring Ana de Armas as the late iconic actor.
The movie, which landed on Netflix earlier this week, is based upon a novel of the same name by author Joyce Carol Oates and is a fictionalised version of Monroe’s life.
Blonde, which has a N-17 rating in the US, has been described as a tough watch, with some viewers claiming they had to switch off after 20 minutes. You can check out the trailer here:
And it seems one scene in particular has upset viewers, prompting an outpouring of disgust on social media.
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In the scene, Monroe (played by de Armas) is drugged and taken to a character named ‘The President’, believed to be John F. Kennedy (played by Caspar Phillipson, who played JFK in Jackie).
Monroe is then forced to carry out a sex act before she thrown onto the bed and he jumps on top of her. All viewers are left with is the terrified shrieks from Monroe before the screen cuts to black.
The scene left viewers horrified, with one person saying: “So I just finished watching blonde and like the film is... something to say the least
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Ana definitely is an amazing actress tho. I will say, the JFK scene, totally disgusting and should’ve never made the cut.”
One viewer believed that this scene contributed to the film's age rating, saying: “I’m wondering why it’s NC-17 then comes the JFK scene for the most degrading depiction of Marilyn Monroe.”
While another commented: “Why would the film Blonde fabricate a graphic rape of Marilyn Monroe by JFK? Disgusting exploitation. Hard pass.”
One viewer questioned the validity of the scene, saying: “I don’t know if this has been validated or not? It’s a big leap to lie about it though.”
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However, there has been no confirmation that such an event had ever taken place.
Amid the criticism about exploitation, de Armas has said that she didn't feel exploited while filming nude scenes for the film.
The 34-year-old told Entertainment Weekly: "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.
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"I didn't feel exploited because I was in control. I made that decision. I knew what the movie I was doing. I trusted my director. I felt like I was in a safe environment.
"We had hundreds of conversations about these scenes. Everyone felt a deep respect for the movie we were making. And in that sense, I had no fear. I didn't feel uncomfortable at all, even though they were really hard scenes."
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV
Claire Reid