Marilyn Monroe's estate is defending Ana de Armas' casting as the Hollywood icon.
After fans criticized the Cuban actress' portrayal of Marilyn in the trailer for the upcoming Netflix film Blonde, the late star's estate is supporting the Deep Water star.
"From what we have seen in the trailer, Ana has artfully captured the essence of Marilyn's voice," Nick Woodhouse, President and Chief Marketing Officer of Authentic Brands Group, which owns Marilyn's estate, told E! News in a statement Aug. 2. "Marilyn was known for her breathiness, which was actually a tactic taught to her by a speech therapist during her childhood to help her overcome a stutter."
Marc Rosen, president of entertainment at Authentic Brands Group, told Variety that any actor who chooses to portray Marilyn "knows they have big shoes to fill" and said Ana captured "Marilyn's glamour, humanity and vulnerability."
The Marilyn Monroe estate's praise of Ana comes after Blonde's July 28 trailer release, during which several viewers noted that de Ana's Cuban accent didn't match up with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes actress' infamous tone.
One Twitter user tweeted, "i know the movie hasn't come out yet but Blonde starring Ana de Armas looks stunning and the scenes gives me chills but i know y'all still hear her accent.. like it's STRONG. i am very surprised they thought she sounded like marilyn because she literally doesn't. looks? Yes."
Another person wrote, "They rly made that whole ass Marilyn Monroe movie and didn't hire Ana De Armas an accent coach."
However, while many weren't impressed with the No Time to Die star's accent work in the trailer, Ana shared in January that she spent months working to capture Marilyn's breathy voice before starting filming on Blonde.
"It took me nine months of dialect coaching, and practicing and some ADR sessions [to get the accent right]," she told The Times of London. "It was a big torture, so exhausting. My brain was fried."
Blonde premieres Sept. 28 on Netflix.