The New NC-17 Rated Marilyn Monroe Film "Blonde" Is Already Facing A Lot Of Backlash

This week, Netflix dropped the trailer for Blonde, a film that somewhat chronicles the fascinating and complex life of American icon Marilyn Monroe, played by Ana de Armas.

Based on Joyce Carol Oates novel of the same name, Blonde aims to reimagine "the complicated life of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe." And because of the dark subject matter and depiction of sexual assault, it is the first Netflix-produced film rated NC-17.

And since the trailer dropped, Blonde has started facing backlash on Twitter.

"I think an NC-17 violent fantasy about Marilyn Monroe presenting itself as a biography, or even if it was upfront about being a fantasy is pretty appalling," film critic Grace Randolph tweeted.

People emphasized that the film is problematic because it's based on a novel that reimagines Marilyn's life, as opposed to a film based on a proper biography:

But overall, people took issue with the fact that between Kim Kardashian wearing and stretching her iconic dress at the Met Gala, and the countless films and media she's inspired, Marilyn has already been hyper-exploited:

Blonde director, Andrew Dominik, hasn't responded to the backlash, but he did talk about the film's controversial nature in an interview with Screen Daily. “It’s a demanding movie. If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the fucking audience’s problem," he said.

"It’s not running for public office. It’s an NC-17 movie about Marilyn Monroe, it’s kind of what you want, right? I want to go and see the NC-17 version of the Marilyn Monroe story.”

Well, there you have it. We'll keep you updated if anything else happens in this saga.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE, which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.