Playboy, Vanity Fair Feuding Over ‘Lost’ Marilyn Monroe Pix

LOS ANGELES — Playboy is miffed over the “lost” Marilyn Monroe photos being hyped on the June edition of Vanity Fair magazine.

Vanity Fair’s cover trumpets, “Marilyn: “Inside The Lost Nudes.” But Playboy says those photos have already appeared in its magazine — not once but twice.

Website Gawker reported that Vanity Fair’s website described the photos in question as outtakes from her last photo shoot that landed on photographer Lawrence Schiller’s desk with a note from Monroe that read, “Send this to Playboy, they might like it."

Playboy shot back on its website, “And, indeed, we did like it. So much that we ran them 48 years ago, in our January 1964 issue, or again in January 2005. Sorry, Vanity Fair. Sometimes when something is too good to be true, it really is too good to be true.”

Although Schiller, whose memoir accompanies the Vanity Fair photos, admitted that they did originally appear in Playboy in 1964, two years after Monroe's death (due to Hugh Hefner not wanting to exploit the tragedy), the revelation didn’t show up until the last paragraph of the article.

Playboy then said in an email that the fact checker probably buried the real deal in the back of the magazine so Vanity Fair could make it appear as though they had the lost and exclusive pictures.

A Vanity Fair spokesperson however told Gawker by email that 12 of their images (mostly black-and-white proofs) had indeed never been published before — some of which were outtakes similar to the original Playboy photos.

So, both magazines are right— sort of — and the legend of Marilyn Monroe lives on.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Hankey's Toys Releases 'Kitsune's Knot' Dildo

Mr. Hankey's Toys has introduced its new Kitsune’s Knot dildo.

Velvet Thruster Signs Distro Deal With ECN

Velvet Thruster has inked a distribution deal with East Coast News (ECN).

Kiiroo Introduces New Agatha Vega Stroker

Kiiroo has debuted the new Agatha Vega stroker sleeve from its FeelStar line.

'Groove Thing' Sets Kickstarter Funding Record for Insertable Pleasure Product

Groove Thing, an insertable pleasure product that plays audio, has set a funding record on Kickstarter.

Nalpac/Entrenue, Ohdoki Sign Distro Deal for 'The Handy'

Nalpac/Entrenue has inked an exclusive U.S. distribution deal with Ohdoki Products for The Handy.

Onahole Debuts New 'Miss Boss Cup' Stroker

Pleasure brand Onahole has introduced its new Miss Boss Cup stroker.

ProDx Health Introduces 'Trust 1' HPV Test

ProDx Health has introduced its new Trust 1 Home Collection Kit for HPV testing.

Eye of Love Debuts 'Pheromone Roll-On Duo' From Bloom Line

Eye of Love has introduced the Pheromone Roll-On Duo fragrance set from its Bloom collection.

Full Circle Releases 'Grinders' Collection

Pleasure brand Full Circle has debuted its new Grinders collection of discreet vibrators.

Doc Johnson, Polynesian Pleasures Ink Distro Deal

Pleasure brand Polynesian Pleasures has signed a deal with Doc Johnson for global distribution.

Show More