The biopic "Blonde," centered on the life of Marilyn Monroe and featuring Ana de Armas, based on Joyce Carol Oates's novel, has sparked numerous inquiries, some of which are baseless, about the actress's real-life experiences.
One controversial scene in the movie depicts John F. Kennedy allegedly assaulting Marilyn Monroe. However, it's important to clarify that this scene, while derived from Joyce Carol Oates's novel, has no basis in reality. Marilyn Monroe's connections with the Kennedy brothers, John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, have been shrouded in numerous accounts, much like any other aspect of her life.
Starting with the official version, as verified, the actress, contrary to rumors, only had one private encounter with President John F. Kennedy. This meeting took place on March 24, 1962, at a party hosted by the singer and actor Bing Crosby at his home in Palm Springs, California. The nature of this meeting remains undisclosed, and while it may have involved a personal dimension, it was held behind closed doors, according to an account from a member of Kennedy's Secret Service team.
One of Marilyn's close friends, Ralph Roberts, recounts her perspective on this evening in Donald Spoto's biography, "Marilyn Monroe: The Biography." He states that "Marilyn told me that this March night was the only moment of her 'affair' with JFK." Roberts further emphasizes, "A lot of people thought, after that weekend, that there was something more going on. But Marilyn gave me the impression that it wasn't a big deal for either of us: it happened once, that weekend, and that was it."
Actress Susan Strasberg, who was a friend of Monroe and stayed at her home between 1953 and 1955 during a dispute with 20th Century Fox, also echoed this version. In her memoirs, she noted, "Marilyn loved secrecy and drama, but Kennedy was not the kind of man she wanted to spend her life with, and she made that very clear." It's widely believed that Marilyn was present at this meeting when Kennedy invited her to perform at his birthday celebration on May 19, 1962, two months after her own birthday.
According to the official version, Marilyn and Kennedy did not meet again until May 19, 1962, when Marilyn Monroe delivered her legendary "Happy Birthday" performance at Madison Square Garden in New York, marking the president's 45th birthday. The timeline then jumps to August 4, 1962, the date of the actress's tragic passing.
In this verified account, Robert F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy's brother, was indeed at Marilyn Monroe's Brentwood Heights home in Los Angeles on the day of her death. Additionally, at 2 a.m. on August 5, he took a helicopter to travel to San Francisco. This version acknowledges that the Kennedys maintained contact with the actress, whether in a romantic context or not, to the extent that the State Attorney General visited her residence while a private investigator monitored both the Kennedys and Marilyn Monroe due to connections with mobster Jimmy Hoffa. Hoffa had recorded their conversations on tapes that the FBI later destroyed.
Contrary to many speculations, the official account maintains that neither John F. Kennedy nor Robert Kennedy ordered Marilyn Monroe's demise. Her autopsy findings indicated no signs of murder or involuntary drug consumption.
In this version, Marilyn Monroe's psychologist, Ralph Greenson, upon inquiry from a journalist on the day of her passing, provocatively responded with "ask Robert Kennedy." He also initially stated that Kennedy should have no trouble acknowledging his visit to her. However, he later retracted his statements and denied any connection between Robert Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe.
