How could I exploit Marilyn if she’s dead?

Andrew Dominik prefers criticism.

The “Blonde” director responded to the backlash about his Netflix film on Sunday, saying that he is pleased that he offended several viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Australian filmmaker, who appeared at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, said that Americans only want to see their icons as celebratory figures. Since his vision did not do that, it caused backlash, he said.

“Now we’re living in a time where it’s important to present women as empowered, and they want to reinvent Marilyn Monroe as an empowered woman. That’s what they want to see,” said Dominik. “And if you’re not showing them that, it upsets them.”

“Which is kind of strange, because she’s dead. The movie doesn’t make any difference in one way or another,” he continued.

“What they really mean is that the film exploited their memory of her, their image of her, which is fair enough. But that’s the whole idea of the movie. It’s trying to take the iconography of her life and put it into service of something else, it’s trying to take things that you’re familiar with, and turning the meaning inside out. But that’s what they don’t want to see.”

The film — which was based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates — starred Ana de Armas as Monroe through various points of her life including her rise and fall from stardom.

The Cuban-American actress was slammed by viewers ever since appearing in a short teaser trailer. Several complaints said the “Knives Out” actress didn’t sound like the late bombshell.

Monroe’s estate and producer Brad Pitt came out in support of de Armas, 34, saying that they were “excited” to see her as Monroe.

The NC-17 film received lukewarm reviews while de Armas was praised for her transformation into the “Some Like It Hot” star.

Dominik had initially warned that the film would “offend everyone” while also noting that the film has been streamed by “tens of millions of people” on Netflix. Dominik blames the backlash on American films being “too conservative.”

“Blonde” is currently streaming on Netflix.