“Wolves I’ve Known…”: 60 years before #MeToo, Marilyn Monroe wrote the first article exposing casting practices in Hollywood.

Far from the more or less brainless platinum blonde clichés that the studios were happy to churn out over and over again, Marilyn Monroe had a great sensitivity and transparency about her profession, openly taking responsibility for everything she did, even before her film career. After the success of Orbit Niagara.

Like her famous nude photos that were printed in a calendar in 1952. This caused a scandal in America, which was still very puritanical. Fox executives, who were to release Gentlemen Prefer Blondes the following year, asked Marilyn to categorically deny that she was in the photos.

He refused, as he explained to United Press International journalist Allyn Mosby, who first reported on the photos: “Oh, the calendar hangs in every garage in town. why deny You can get it anywhere. Besides, I’m not ashamed of it. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Wolves I’ve Known…”

At the same time, more precisely in January 1953, Marilyn Monroe had the courage to fearlessly fight against the predatory practice of “couch promotion” in Hollywood, where men in powerful positions, directors, studio heads or producers, sexually assault female talent. An exchange of roles or favors, including his. And not only strong men.

64 years before the #MeToo wave born out of Weinstein’s affair scandal, we must measure the courage of an actor to dare to bring into the public arena what was happening in the unsavory back kitchens of “Hollywood”.

At the age of 27, Marilyn picked up her pen to write a famous article Cinema and Television magazineunder the name “Wolves I’ve Known”. “There are many kinds of wolves. Some are evil, others are fools who try to get something for nothing, and some make a game of it.” he wrote.

and disclose his experience. “The first guy should be ashamed of himself for trying to take advantage of a mere child.” She remembers when she was still a very young model. The same person led him to believe that he occupied an office in Samuel Goldwyn’s studio. Not only did he not work at the studio, but he was allegedly brought in to read the script while lying on the couch.

“Girls from all walks of life need to be very careful not to end up as just another scalp on a man’s belt. In Hollywood, we have to work overtime to stay ahead of the wolves. That’s because all kinds of wolves come from far and near. Hit the red riding hood of the movies.”.

The predators he encountered before his Hollywood career weren’t the worst, he says; The worst was in Hollywood Bay: “They were rough-and-tumble lovers compared to the ones I met after my name appeared in film magazines and fan magazines.”

“I want every boy in town to know that you belong to me!”

After signing with Twentieth Century Fox in 1946, Marilyn continued to struggle to establish herself as an actress. The following year, he signed a new contract with Columbia Pictures. After passing the test, he said that studio head Harry Cohn invited him on a yacht trip. He replied that he would only go if Connie’s wife went too, throwing his contract in the trash…

There is also a wolf “paternalistic”Like this artistic agent she met in Hollywood, who convinced her that he ironically wanted to protect her from other wolves, even lending her money at a time when she was still struggling to pay her rent.

“For the first two installments, I insisted on promissory notes and he took it as a big joke. My promissory notes were framed on the wall of the office. I told him I didn’t like him to let him go. Everyone knows that I owed him. “I want every boy in town to know that you belong to me!” He replied with a suggestive smile. “

“A girl’s survival in the midst of a pack of wolves depends entirely on her. If she tries to get something for nothing, she often ends up getting more than she bargained for. If she plays the game honestly, she usually avoids unpleasant situations. And she even earns the respect of the wolves.” he said at the end.

In His unpublished autobiographyMy story, he wrote: “You know, when a producer calls an actor into his office to discuss a script, that’s not necessarily what he has in mind. I’ve slept with producers. I’d be a liar if I didn’t.”

“Marilyn was really one of the first big stars to speak out about what we now call sexual harassment.” made a comment Sarah CherwellProfessor of American Literature at the School of Advanced Study, University of London and author The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe. “He was talking about a culture where women weren’t safe, he just wanted to say that it happens a lot.”