Why Marilyn Monroe fans hate Arthur Miller
The other day, I was watching a YouTube video of a press conference with Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller just before they got married. Marilyn looked happy and affectionate toward Miller, smiling at him and even hugging him. In contrast, Miller appeared very serious and barely acknowledged her, not even meeting her gaze. I checked the video comments, and almost all of them were attacks from Marilyn’s fans directed at Miller. That got me thinking: why do Marilyn’s fans harbor such disdain for Miller? Well, there are actually several reasons that help explain this widespread disapproval.
Let’s start at the beginning: Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller first met in 1951 on the set of As Young as You Feel, but they didn’t begin a romantic relationship until 1955, after Marilyn’s divorce from Joe DiMaggio. Miller was a controversial figure during the McCarthy era, having had a Marxist past in the 1930s and 1940s. Several of his works were critical of capitalism, and he was now also openly opposing McCarthyism—most notably with The Crucible, a play about the Salem witch trials in the 17th century that served as an allegory for the McCarthy hearings. Considered a threat to the establishment at the time, he was now dating the most famous actress in the world.
In 1956, Miller was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). By that time, he was no longer a Marxist but remained a staunch critic of McCarthyism. In The Crucible, the protagonist sacrifices himself by being burned to prevent condemning others—a theme Miller intended to reflect in real life, though the reality was quite different. During his HUAC testimony, Miller openly criticized communism, admitted to having met with members of the Communist Party (which he later regretted), but insisted he had never been a member. He declared himself a patriot and a Democrat and warned that it would be disastrous if the Communist Party gained control of the United States. Despite his rejection of communism, he refused to give names. The public hailed him as brave and heroic. However, the reality behind his actions was more strategic. Miller was in a relationship with Marilyn Monroe, but he had not proposed marriage. He leveraged Marilyn in his HUAC appearance by announcing that they were engaged, creating a media distraction from the committee’s scrutiny. The announcement diverted press attention away from HUAC, and few would dare publicly condemn the husband of Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn, deeply in love at the time, saw his act as courageous and supported him, agreeing to marry him. Yet even her close friends, like Rupert Allan, recognized that Miller had used Marilyn to protect himself.
In addition to this, 20th Century Fox allegedly pressured Marilyn to force Miller to give names, but she refused. Marilyn later explained that she was confident Miller would come out unharmed, noting that she had studied Thomas Jefferson extensively and believed, based on his principles, that things could not end otherwise. In reality, Fox’s threats were likely more bluff than fact, as the studio could not afford to lose its biggest star. Nevertheless, it was an unnecessary risk for Marilyn. Complicating matters further, because of Miller’s situation, the FBI also began investigating Marilyn, although they never found any evidence against her. On top of that, Miller was not in a strong financial position, and Marilyn provided him with economic support during this period.
As we have seen, Miller used Marilyn to protect himself, yet she defended him despite Fox’s threats and even supported him financially. How did Miller repay Marilyn’s enormous kindness? A few months later, during the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl, Miller left his diary open, and Marilyn discovered entries in which he wrote that she embarrassed him in front of his friends, that he initially thought she was an angel but now considered her a “problematic bitch,” and he even reportedly called her a “whore.” Marilyn was furious. She had given everything for him, yet he insulted and belittled her without the courage to speak directly to her. Moreover, she saw the act of leaving the diary open as a deliberate provocation, believing he intended for her to find it without confronting her face-to-face. Despite all this, Marilyn forgave him, but the marriage would never be the same again.
Up until 1960, there were no such extreme episodes in Marilyn and Miller’s relationship, but it is important to note that Marilyn was a person with a profound need for love and affection. Emotional closeness was vital to her, yet Miller was distant and cold, failing to provide the warmth she craved. To make matters worse, over time Marilyn’s dependency on prescription pills increased, and Miller never took any steps to help her reduce this dependency. On the contrary, after her death, he complained about it but had never done anything to address the problem. Miller saw himself as an intellectual poised to “rescue” Marilyn from Hollywood, yet in reality, he neither helped her nor took meaningful action on her behalf.
However, it is important to note that Marilyn was not entirely blameless. In 1960, during the filming of Let’s Make Love, she was unfaithful to Miller with Yves Montand. While this was clearly wrong, it occurred against the backdrop of Miller’s already complicated history with her. Moreover, Marilyn began to see Miller as a hypocrite: the great liberal who championed the oppressed and persecuted. During the Let’s Make Love shoot, there was a writers’ strike, and Miller was in Ireland working with John Huston on the script for The Misfits. According to Montand, Fox called Miller to revise the Let’s Make Love script in exchange for a payment, and Miller rushed to do so, working at night without disclosure. Marilyn witnessed this and was disappointed, and this, combined with prior grievances, contributed to her infidelity.
After the affair, their marriage was effectively broken, though they stayed together at least long enough to finish filming The Misfits. The shoot was an emotional chaos for both, with frequent arguments and the couple beginning to sleep separately. Apparently, Miller sought revenge and tried to alter the script of The Misfits so that Roslyn, Marilyn’s character, would be portrayed as a prostitute and have reduced screen time. Fortunately for Marilyn, John Huston refused to allow these changes. After their divorce, in 1961, Marilyn was mistakenly admitted to the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic in New York. The Strasbergs could not authorize her release—it required a family member. Ultimately, her ex-husband Joe DiMaggio quickly came from San Francisco and secured her release. Since DiMaggio, as an ex-husband, could do this, Miller could presumably have done the same but took no action. Despite their divorce, Marilyn continued to speak well of Miller in her later years.
The worst of Miller’s behavior occurred after Marilyn’s death. He did not even attend her funeral. Shortly after her passing, Miller premiered After the Fall, in which he created the character Maggie—a cruelly distorted vision of Marilyn. In the play, Miller caricatures her as a self-destructive, depressed woman with suicidal tendencies, a portrayal far removed from the real Marilyn. Critics, including Sarah Churchwell, have described this depiction as misogynistic, and the timing of the play’s release, so soon after her death, was widely seen as deeply cruel. Furthermore, Miller, who had long criticized capitalism, was now using his deceased ex-wife for commercial gain. Marilyn had been correct in perceiving him as a hypocrite. In numerous interviews, Miller spoke disparagingly about Marilyn, in stark contrast to her consistent respect and kindness toward him after their divorce. He also continued to complain about her dependence on pills, despite never taking any steps to help her manage or reduce it.
As has been seen, it is understandable why Arthur Miller is disliked among Marilyn’s fans. Miller was a man who exploited her to save his own skin when he was in trouble and, instead of showing gratitude, insulted her in a diary without ever telling her to her face. He was a husband who never gave Marilyn the affection she needed, never helped her with her struggles—in fact, he complained about them—and after her death, his only action was to exploit her memory for his own purposes.
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