The Menendez brothers have made it quite clear that the new Ryan Murphy joint about them is not their favorite thing, calling the portrayals of them “vile and appalling.†But the distain is not mutual. Cooper Koch, who plays Erik Menendez on Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, is still speaking very … lovingly about the men who called his show “disheartening slander.†Koch told Variety on September 27 that he has talked to Erik twice now — once during a previously reported visit to the prison with Kim Kardashian, and once previously, on the night before the show’s September 19 premiere, over the phone. “I did everything I could as an actor to advocate for him and portray him as authentically as possible,†Koch says he told Erik on the phone call, adding that, “I think the show does a really good job of representing him.†Once the show actually premiered, Erik’s wife, Tammi, put out a statement from Erik on X criticizing the show.
Koch got to talk to Erik again, in person, following the family’s statement. They hugged it out and he told them that he understands their critiques. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to have the worst part of your life, such a traumatic and tragic thing, be televised for millions of people to see in a dramatized Hollywood TV way,†Koch told Variety. “I just said, ‘I understand, I get it, and I stand with you.’†Describing his talk with the brothers, Koch takes on the position that sounds kind of like a fanboy meeting a pop star. “I always knew I wanted to meet them,†he said. “I always knew I wanted to tell them that I believe them and that I want to be an advocate for them. So then when it happened, it felt weirdly normal.†Normal is definitely the word we’d use here.