Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story has not only become the latest Netflix miniseries to gain popularity on the platform, but it has also garnered its fair share of criticism since making its debut just last week. A majority of the criticism leveled against the Ryan Murphy co-creation has been the liberties the project has taken with the truth, at least according to the real brothers at the center of the story and viewers who support their assertion that they murdered their parents due to years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of their father.
With these criticisms growing louder, the people in front of and behind the camera have begun to speak out, and credit should be given to one of the young stars leading the series for his respectful take regarding some of the backlash. Cooper Koch, who portrays Erik Menéndez in the miniseries, spoke to Variety about Erik’s assertions that the show was “naive and inaccurate,” and the actor offered empathy towards his real-life counterpart, indicating it has to be hard to have “the worst part of your life be televised for millions of people to see.”
“[Erik’s reaction] definitely affected me and it made me feel things. I sympathize with him, I empathize with him. I get it. I understand how difficult it would be to have the worst part of your life be televised for millions of people to see. It’s so exposing. I understand how he feels and I stand by him. In terms of approaching him and approaching the part, I just really wanted to do as much research and dig really deep into myself to really portray him with integrity and just be as authentic as possible to support him and also to support his family and all the people who stand with him.”
Not Everyone Shares Cooper Koch’s Empathetic Response
Not all the responses have been as respectful as Koch’s. Veteran performer Nathan Lane, who takes on the role of journalist Dominick Dunne, a man who Murphy named when discussing the incest theory portrayed on the show that has garnered a bulk of the series’ backlash, seemed to believe that Erik should have little to say since he likely hadn’t watched the series. It should be noted that even though both Lyle and Erik Menéndez are in prison, it would not be hard for them to obtain information about what is being portrayed on the Netflix show.
“You know, he hasn’t seen the show. He’s Just criticizing it and condemning it without ever having seen it, so one has to take that with a grain of salt. Obviously, to have your life portrayed this way in a Netflix miniseries … he wasn’t one of the producers, so not everything might be flattering or make you happy. But I would say you should probably see it before you speak out again.”
Nicholas Chavez, who plays Lyle Menéndez on the miniseries, shared Koch’s sympathy for Erik’s position about what has been portrayed on the show by saying, “I can only respond with sympathy and empathy in that I can only imagine how difficult it is to have the most traumatic moment of your life put up there on the screen for everyone to see.” Javier Bardem, tasked with portraying the problematic Jose Menéndez, went on to state that it’s logical for Erik to feel a certain way about what is being portrayed on screen. The actor said, “I know he has spoken, but I haven’t read it. But of course it’s absolutely normal, logical and legitimate to say what you think about your own life being on a show. I support that.”
A series like this is bound to stir up opinions, especially from the real people involved. Just measuring the responses from people like Murphy, who seemed to take issue with the criticisms, and Lane, who seemed flippant in his response, compared to their younger co-stars Koch and Chavez, who understand why this would be upsetting for the real person, it truly speaks volumes.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
is currently streaming on Netflix.