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Actor Cooper Koch, who portrayed real-life convicted killer Erik Menéndez in Netflix’sMonsters: The Erik and LyleMenéndez Storyreportedly met him when he went to their correctional facility. The actor reportedly joined Kim Kardashian for a prison reform project and had conversations with his real-life counterpart.
The Netflix series came under fire for its sensational portrayal of the Menéndez Brothers and their alleged crimes. The Brothers themselves put out a statement accusing creator Ryan Murphy of an inauthentic portrayal of the incidents and disregarding their defense of the crime being a response to years of abuse.
MonstersStar Cooper Koch Met Real-Life Killers Erik and Lyle Menéndez In Prison
Showrunner Ryan Murphy’s series have often come under fire for their sensational portrayals of real-life incidents. Usually focused on the world of crime, horror, and other sensational topics, Murphy’sMonstersseries had already received its fair share of criticism for allegedly glorifying the violence committed by convicted killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
Why Was Lyle Menendez Bald When He Was Only 14, ‘Monsters’ Reveal the Traumatic Hair Hooks Story That Embarassed Lyle Infront of Erik
The second season of the show focused on the Menéndez Brothers’ infamous killing of their parents Jose and Kitty Menéndez. It was reportedly structured to show various perspectives of the murder, portraying the brothers’ defense of the killing being a response to years of abuse from their parents, while also showing the parents’ perspective (viaBBC).
ActorCooper Koch, who portrayed Erik Menéndez in the Netflix series, reportedly met his real-life counterpart. The actor reportedly tagged along with Kim Kardashian as part of her prison reform project along with the Menéndez Brothers. TheThey/Themactor was all praises for the brothers and appreciated their efforts in prison. He said toextraTV,
They’re such amazing people. They’ve done so much good in prison. They just graduated from UC Irvine. They are doing this Green Space Project. As I said, Eric teaches meditation and speech classes…They’re very involved and they’re really wonderful people.
The actor also mentioned that he told Erik Menéndez that he believed their version of events and disregarded the perspective shown inMonstersthat the brothers might have had an inc*stuous relationship.
The Menéndez Brothers Criticized The Netflix Series For Not Showing The ‘Truth’
The Menéndez Brotherswere reportedly sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for allegedly killing their parents in 1989. Erik and Lyle Menéndez had a sensationalized public trial, where the two reportedly argued that they killed their parents out of self-defense, after suffering years of abuse from their father (viaLA Times).
“Menendez Brothers Were Not Lying”: The Stark Difference Between Erik Menendez’s Court Trial and Cooper Koch’s Acting in Monsters Has Helped Fans Give Their Verdict
Since their arrest and conviction, several depictions of their crimes have been made in pop culture, including films, documentaries, and TV shows. The latest is Ryan Murphy’s Netflix seriesMonsters: The Erik and Lyle Menéndez Story. However, the Menéndez Brotherswere reportedly not happywith the way the show treated their story and condemned it.
I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show. I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.
The Menéndez Brothers’ family members also criticized the show, with them especially bashing Murphy for relying on the Dominic Dunne theory (viaVariety).
Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menéndez Storyis currently available to stream on Netflix.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2417
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
