Did Marilyn Monroe fart constantly? Of course not
The number of conspiracy theories surrounding Marilyn Monroe is practically endless—not only those related to her death but also about aspects like her sexuality or hygiene, each more absurd than the last. Speaking of absurdity, today I’m going to debunk what may be the most ridiculous of them all: that Marilyn Monroe constantly farted. Obviously, this is completely absurd, but several articles mention it, so it’s necessary for someone to set the record straight.
But before debunking this rather ridiculous theory, let’s look at where it comes from. The origin of this conspiracy theory is quite curious, because it doesn’t even come from someone doing serious work on Marilyn. The “father” of this theory is David Bret, a British writer known for being sensationalist and controversial. The theory comes from a biography Bret wrote about Clark Gable; in this book, Bret criticizes Marilyn for supposedly being “unhygienic,” which is also false, though I’ll debunk that in another article. Within this alleged lack of hygiene, Bret claims that Marilyn suffered from irritable bowel syndrome, which caused her to have constant flatulence. This claim was later spread and exaggerated by various media outlets and blogs, propagating this misinformation.
What Bret claims is completely false. There is no documented evidence that Marilyn had irritable bowel syndrome. Marilyn did have various health issues, including severe endometriosis, which caused pelvic pain and discomfort during menstruation. This condition might temporarily affect the intestines, but it does not cause constant flatulence and is by no means the same condition as irritable bowel syndrome. Therefore, Marilyn did not have irritable bowel syndrome nor suffer from constant flatulence; this is simply an invention by a sensationalist author.
It’s quite curious, as I mentioned before, that this rumor comes from a biography of Clark Gable and not from Marilyn herself. Speaking of Gable, Bret claims things like Marilyn found him unpleasant and didn’t want to touch him because he was very hygienic. However, Marilyn and Gable got along wonderfully during the filming of The Misfits, and there are even photos of them showing considerable physical closeness. Marilyn greatly admired Gable, and he liked her; there was no romance, but there was a good friendship.
It’s quite sad that mainstream media spreads this rumor and that it falls to small blogs or social media users to debunk it. However, I don’t want to end this article without criticizing Lois Banner. Banner is the author of one of the most popular biographies of Marilyn and isn’t considered a bad writer, but she is one of the most conspiratorial authors regarding Marilyn in several aspects, especially concerning her death, as she fully supports Anthony Summers’ conspiracy theory. In politics, she portrays Marilyn as a radical leftist; to do this, she exaggerates, lies, and omits important information, when it’s quite clear that Marilyn was a progressive liberal, but not someone close to communism as Banner suggests. Regarding sexuality, she claims Marilyn was bisexual without hesitation, relying on anecdotes from third parties after Marilyn’s death. Apparently, she also supports the conspiracy theory that Marilyn constantly farted; in her book, she fully accepts Bret’s sensationalist account and claims Marilyn suffered from flatulence during the filming of The Misfits. This clearly shows that Lois Banner is a conspiratorial author, and here she proves it again by accepting a sensationalist account with no evidence.
But the proof that Marilyn did not constantly fart is not only that she didn’t have irritable bowel syndrome, but that Marilyn herself completely denies this conspiracy theory in a personal writing. Marilyn wrote in a private note: "I am too inhibited to be spontaneous, I am afraid because I don’t know what might happen, even the gases from my stomach (I am afraid to write fart) and I will be humiliated and feel inferior to anything or anyone." Here, Marilyn herself completely denies the idea that she could be constantly farting in public. Of course, Marilyn was not lying: she was a very shy person, afraid of rejection, and with a constant need for affection. Imagining someone like that constantly farting in public is absurd. As I said, Marilyn wrote this herself, but Bret, several articles, and Lois Banner —who also wrote a book about Marilyn’s writings— prefer to ignore it and spread lies.
In conclusion, this conspiracy theory is an example of the lies spread about celebrities. One must be very careful about what they read and hear. Personally, I recommend that if someone hears something strange or hard to believe about a celebrity, the best approach is to investigate it; but if they’re not that interested, the safest option is simply not to believe it, because hoaxes are everywhere, especially about celebrities like Marilyn, about whom, as I mentioned at the beginning, there are countless conspiracy theories that I hope to debunk gradually.
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