Emily Ratajkowski has blistering response to 'Blonde' on Netflix
Emily Ratajkowski is "so done" with people fetishizing women's pain and death. The model and actor said this in response to the new Netflix film "Blonde" that profiles the life of Marilyn Monroe.
Calling it her "b--- era 2022," Ratajkowski referenced the lives of other famous woman who lived embattled lives in the spotlight including Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears and Princess Diana. Ratajkowski said all of their pain was fetishized by society.
"We love to fetishize female pain," she said. "And I think as women, I can say for myself for sure, I've learned how to fetishize my own pain and my own hurt in my life so that it feels like something that can be tended to that's kind of sexy."
"I want that to change," the 31-year-old said of the way the public views women, and women look themselves. "But I was thinking about it and you know what's kind of hard to fetishize? Anger. Anger is hard to fetishize. So I have a proposal. I think we all need to be a little more pissed off. I'm gonna be in my witch era. 2022, baby, is my b---- era."
She then invited everyone to join her "b---- era," adding that she knows she's going to be mad seeing the new "Blonde" movie, which she said "fetishizes female, even in death."
The Netflix film looks at the rise and fall of Monroe, portrayed by Ana de Armas. The reviews thus far have mostly been negative, earning a 44% tomato-meter score from 222 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience score is 33% from more than 1,000 ratings.
In an essay for the New York Times, Manohla Dargis wrote that Hollywood is exploiting its iconic star in the nearly three-hour movie, showcasing Monroe's upsetting childhood, abusive relationships and health issues.
"Given all the indignities and horrors that Marilyn Monroe endured during her 36 years … it is a relief that she didn’t have to suffer through the vulgarities of 'Blonde,' the latest necrophiliac entertainment to exploit her," Dargis wrote.
The film — which carries an NC-17 rating — is especially being lambasted for the vulgar sex scenes, prompting some to debate how necessary they are to tell Monroe's story.
On Twitter, one viewer claimed that the film exists to “put Norma/Marilyn in a box that only allows her to be abused, sexualized, or to call people daddy,” adding, “Maybe we stop letting misogynistic men try to make groundbreaking films about women of which they know nothing about.”
Ratajkowski's fan base seemed to agree with the critics of "Blonde" in the comments under her TikTok video.
"They should have used that beautiful cinematography to make a new movie with a new concept. Not unearth a poor woman’s pain once again for money," wrote TikTok user @jane_awuwu.
User @thebauhausgroup commented, "it’s unwatchable torture."
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
