By Variety | Created at 2024-09-25 23:21:41 | Updated at 2024-09-30 11:33:53
4 days ago
The actors behind Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” have responded to backlash concerning the show’s suggestion of an incestuous relationship between brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez. In one scene of the series, for instance, the two brothers are depicted showering together.
When asked about the “homoeroticism” between the brothers in the series, Lyle actor Nicholas Chavez wanted to let the project speak for itself, saying, “It’s a really interesting question, and it was something that we discussed quite a bit as part of this project, but ultimately this is a question that’s honestly best reserved for Ryan and the creators of the show.”
Series co-creator Ryan Murphy had previously defended the portrayal of the brother’s relationship, saying that it came from a “point of view” that emerged during the Menendez sibling’s televised murder trial.
“If you watch the show, what the show is doing is presenting the points of view and theories from so many people who were involved in the case,” Murphy said. “Dominick Dunne [the Vanity Fair journalist played by Nathan Lane] wrote several articles talking about that theory. We are presenting his point of view. And we had an obligation to show all of that and we did.”
Nathan Lane, who portrays Dunne in “Monsters,” said that while he is not on social media and has not seen the discussion there, he’s “heard through the grapevine that it’s caused quite a stir.”
“There’s a dinner party scene at Chateau Marmont, and Dominick’s discussing various theories of what he thinks happened with the brothers,” he said. “At one point, that scene was originally 20 pages, and I talked about it a lot more. At one point, he says, ‘perhaps this is what happened’ and suggest that there was an incestuous relationship between the two brothers, but that it had nothing to do with [their father] José, and that’s what [their mother] Kitty knew about. But it’s just him theorizing. He’s not saying that’s what happened. He says this is another reason why they might have killed them. But he’s just posing another theory. I guess we have to remind people that it’s a dramatization and not a documentary. As Ryan has said, they’ve shown all different points of view about this case, and certainly they cover Eric and Lyle discussing their sexual abuse at the hands of their father. So I think you get many, many different opinions and points of view about what happened. Ultimately they’re the only ones who know for sure exactly what happened. But I just think it the show is extremely well written and beautifully acted by everybody.”
Cooper Koch, who portrays Erik Menendez, isn’t surprised that there’s been push back on insinuations that the siblings had a sexual relationship.
“I knew that this was a very controversial story, and that people were going to be upset and affected by what they were seeing,” Koch said. “I think though you do have to put it into context of the situation, and that we’re sort of painting a picture based on what somebody else’s perspective was. It’s not necessarily the truth of what happened. That’s just what Dominick Dunne thinks and there I think are other places in the story where it’s sort of planted to give people all of these different perspectives and you know.”
He continued, “I think the goal of the show is to put all those perspectives together and let the audience be the jury. And at the end of the show, you just make your decision on what you believe. And I think it’s a really interesting way of telling the story and just storytelling in general.”
Koch said he “absolutely does not” believe the brothers had an incestuous relationship. “I do not think that’s true,” he said. “And I don’t think it was intended by the show to make or break that truth. I think that was just a theory that one person had and that got put into the show because that person was a character in the show…I stand with Eric and everything that he says in his testimony I believe to be his truth, and I believe him.”
Chloë Sevigny, who portrays the Menendez family matriarch Kitty in the series, has a key scene where she walks in on her sons together in the shower. When asked about the homoeroticism in the series, she highlighted on the actors’ commitment to acting out the writers’ vision.
“I think all of the creators and showrunners wanted, first and foremost, for Nicholas and Cooper to feel comfortable and to not do anything that they didn’t want to do,” she said. “There were people there to protect them at all times on the sets. And I said, ‘So do you want me to do off-camera? Do you not want me to? Is it better for you if I’m there or not there?’ Everything was done to ensure that they felt safe and protected, with intimacy coaches and so on. They were allowed to cut and walk away if they ever wanted to, and those boys were so committed to the roles and the way that Ian and and Ryan wanted to tell the story that they were willing themselves to do almost anything. It was really amazing to watch them and how invested they were in the characters and the story. I just felt like I was there to support them.”
“Monsters” has proven quite controversial since its launch on Netflix earlier in September, even drawing criticism from Erik Menendez himself. In an official statement released via his wife Tammi Menendez’s X account, Erik, who is currently serving a life sentence in San Diego, wrote “I believed we had moved beyond the lies and the 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 as to do this without bad intent.”
“Monsters” chronicles the story of the Menendez Brothers, who murdered their parents in 1989. The pair became tabloid sensations in the early ’90s after their criminal trial was broadcast nationwide. After a turbulent and ultimately traumatic journey through the criminal justice system, Erik and Lyle Menendez were found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder. They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on July 2, 1996.
