{"id":39549,"date":"2021-11-08T17:24:46","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T06:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/?post_type=articles&p=204827"},"modified":"2021-11-08T06:29:20","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T06:29:20","slug":"brittany-murphy-documentary-controversial-moments","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/brittany-murphy-documentary-controversial-moments\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Most Controversial Moments From The “What Happened, Brittany Murphy” Documentary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brittany Murphy\u2019s 2009 death was one of the most shocking celebrity losses of the 2000s. Found in her Hollywood home\u2019s bathroom at age 32, the subsequent autopsy and numerous conspiracy theories surrounding her sudden passing gripped the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

It feels like Murphy\u2019s death hasn\u2019t been discussed in media for quite some time, but now a new HBO Max documentary What Happened, Brittany Murphy?<\/em><\/span>\u00a0takes a look back at Murphy\u2019s rise to fame, troubling final years and controversial relationship with writer\/director Simon Monjack.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Brittany
Brittany with co-star Dakota Fanning in Uptown Girls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The documentary is\u2026 not the best. Using dramatic reenactments and spliced footage of scenes from films, it feels like they\u2019re not telling us much we don\u2019t already know. The inclusion of YouTube conspiracy videos feels off \u2013 like padding out the story with wild theories that don\u2019t have a lot of substantial evidence behind them. Yes, Murphy\u2019s death was shocking and the conspiracy-riddled aftermath deserves investigation, but often the claims from YouTubers aren\u2019t really assessed, making it all feel a little salacious.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, the documentary \u2013 which has two hour-long episodes and includes interviews with Simon Monjack\u2019s mother and brother, and close friends of Murphy and those who worked with her \u2013 sheds some light on the lead up to her untimely death, and is definitely worth a watch if you aren\u2019t across Murphy\u2019s story.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are the key takeaways.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Simon Monjack and Brittany Murphy\u2019s mother, Sharon, had a strange relationship<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Brittany
A clip from Simon and Sharon’s infamous Larry King interview.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you followed Murphy\u2019s story in the 2000s, you\u2019re probably already aware of the conversations around her husband, Simon Monjack, and her mother. The three lived together in Hollywood, and after Murphy\u2019s death, Monjack and Sharon continued to live together in the same house \u2013 even sharing a bed on occasion.<\/span><\/p>\n

The documentary doesn\u2019t get to the bottom of what their relationship was, specifically, but it shows some fascinating footage of interviews with Monjack and Sharon, including the infamous mention from Monjack of Murphy\u2019s body on <\/span>Larry King Live<\/span><\/i>, when asked why they didn\u2019t want to do the autopsy. \u201c<\/span>This pristine body, curvy in all the right places, with skin like silk. How could I say \u2018cut it up\u2019 in front of her mother?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

2. The autopsy did not support the \u201ctoxic mould\u201d cause of death<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Brittany
Brittany as Tai in Clueless<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brittany Murphy\u2019s death was primarily caused by pneumonia, and Monjack died five months later from lung inflammation caused by a bacterial infection. It was reported that after he died, it was discovered that their house had toxic mould, and speculation arose as to whether this was the cause of their deaths.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, in the documentary it is ruled out as a cause by the post-mortem examiner, who says evidence of mould didn\u2019t show up in Murphy\u2019s body.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Simon Monjack allegedly had secret children<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Brittany
Simon and Brittany in footage from the HBO documentary.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The documentary alleges that Monjack had two secret children with other women \u2013 children Murphy knew nothing about. <\/span><\/p>\n

They interview E<\/span>lizabeth Ragsdale, who claims her son Elijah is with Monjack. She says he abandoned her in the 90s, but reconnected in 2007 \u2013 offering to buy her a house. She believes it was his attempt to buy her silence, as that was the year he got engaged to Murphy.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Simon Monjack controlled Brittany Murphy\u2019s life<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Brittany
Brittany in Girl, Interrupted<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The documentary goes deep on Monjack, asking friends and associates of Murphy\u2019s about their relationship. According to the doco, she fired everyone in her team due to expressions of concern about Monjack, and by the time of her death he was her sole manager \u2013 including her makeup artist. He even controlled her sex scenes, with one director interviewed saying Murphy originally refused to do a kissing scene, until Monjack said he would convince her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most concerningly, friends said Murphy changed her phone number and became essentially uncontactable unless through Monjack.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Could Brittany Murphy have been saved?<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Brittany
Brittany in Uptown Girls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the biggest questions the documentary attempts to answer is whether Murphy\u2019s death was preventable. For the last three months of her life, she was isolated in her home with Monjack and her mother. Footage from a RadarOnline interview with Monjack shows her bathroom \u2013 where she was found dead \u2013 revealing what this living situation was like.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All three came down with what they termed flu-like symptoms, but instead of seeing a doctor, they treated these with over-the-counter medication. Even when Murphy\u2019s condition went downhill, she wasn\u2019t taken to see anyone. Experts who were part of the autopsy process say in the documentary that if she were treated in the days prior to her death, she would have been hospitalized.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, the documentary paints a harrowing portrait of a woman whose rise to fame was marred by experiences with drugs, body image issues and toxic relationships. Like the recent <\/span>New York Times<\/span><\/i> documentary <\/span>Framing Britney Spears<\/span><\/i><\/a>, it makes you consider how we speak about and treat celebrities \u2013 particularly women \u2013 and how what is going on behind the scenes is not always seen by the masses.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31333,"featured_media":39550,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[23,16],"yoast_head":"\nBrittany Murphy Documentary: 5 Controversial Moments From HBO Series<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The HBO documentary 'What Happened, Brittany Murphy' sheds more light on the sudden passing of a Hollywood star, and raises questions around her marriage to Simon Monjack.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/brittany-murphy-documentary-controversial-moments\/\" \/>\n<meta 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