A Netflix film about Marilyn Monroe’s personal and professional life premiered at the Venice Film Festival this year.  Directed by Andrew Dominik, Blonde will be officially released on September 28.

Ana de Armas, who was born in Cuba and has Monroe’s signature platinum blonde hair, will be starring as the Hollywood star. However, de Armas’ accent is unmistakable in the Netflix trailer, which has sparked controversy even before the film has been released. However, Marilyn Monore’s acting career was too mired in conspiracies and scandals. Read on to more about these controversies. 

1.  Monroe’s nude picture on the Playboy cover

Marilyn Monroe, one of the most recognisable and enchanting stars of Hollywood’s golden age, graced the cover of Hugh Hefner’s first Playboy issue.

But she wasn’t just on the cover; the magazine also featured naked photos of her.

According to the Daily News, the magazine was an instant success, selling 50,000 copies almost immediately. And Hefner always credited Playboy’s success to Monroe’s involvement in the first issue.

Also Read: 5 best Marilyn Monroe movies

However, controversy ensued when Monroe disclosed that she never agreed to be in Playboy. Just like most aspiring actresses, Monroe was in need of money before she became famous. In exchange for $50, she posed naked for photographer Tom Kelley back in 1949. Kelley sold his Monroe photographs to Western Lithograph Company, which produced calendars.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Hefner procured Kelley’s pictures of Monroe with “nothing but the radio on” from the Chicago calendar maker for $500 four years later.

Monroe decided to do an interview after the publication, in which she clarified that she was financially strapped when she posed for the nude photos. And it didn’t appear to have any negative consequences for her career.

2.  Relationship with the Kennedys

Despite the fact that Marilyn and JFK were two of the most influential people on the planet at the time, many believe they didn’t meet until 1962. However, in April 1957, both attended the Paris Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. Several sources also reported seeing the two socialising at singer Bing Crosby’s home in Palm Springs, California, in 1962.

According to Goalcast, Ralph Roberts, Monroe’s companion and beautician, told the press that when he called Monroe one weekend, he heard Kennedy’s voice in the background. Monroe later confesses to Roberts about the imbroglio, which was presumably a one-time fling for both parties. “Marilyn gave me the impression that it wasn’t a big deal for either of them: it happened once, that weekend and that was the end of it.”

Also Read: Blonde: Adrien Brody recalls 1st time Ana de Armas became Marilyn Monroe

Their final meeting was allegedly on May 19, 1962, when Monroe was invited to perform at Madison Square Garden for Kennedy’s early birthday celebration. She sang a slow, romantic version of Happy Birthday, substituting ‘Mr. President’ for Kennedy’s name, before concluding with ‘Thanks For the Memory.’ She customised the lyrics for the latter song to speak to Kennedy’s splendour, with references to the “battles” he’s won, how he dealt with “US Steel,” and all the “problems” by the ton.

However, they were also rumours of Marilyn dating JFK’s brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. It is difficult to find out the truth as the Hollywood legend passed away only three months after her last appearance in Kennedy’s birthday celebration. 

3. Controversy regarding Monroe’s death

Monroe died as a result of a drug overdose and “probable suicide”. The official cause of death, according to the coroner’s toxicology report, was acute barbiturate poisoning. The toxicologist determined that Monroe consumed a lethal dose of Nembutal, an anxiety medication, as well as a strong dose of chloral hydrate, a sedative.

Despite the fact that Monroe’s death was ruled an overdose, the strange details surrounding her death have given rise to conspiracy theories that suggested that foul play was involved. Some experts have even suggested that the CIA was involved in her death. Others have queried why her body was not turned over to forensic experts for hours after her death.

The uproar over Monroe’s death was so powerful that the Los Angeles Police Department re-opened her case twenty years later. Despite further inquiry, the district attorney determined that her death was caused by drug overdose.