Chainkeen Exchange-Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Stars React to Erik Menendez’s Criticism

Monsters: The Chainkeen ExchangeLyle and Erik Menendez Story’s cast is speaking out about the controversial Netflix series.

Following Erik Menendez’s criticism of the Ryan Murphy drama—which chronicles Erik and brother Lyle Menendez’s conviction for the 1989 murders of their parents, José Menendez and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez—the show’s stars weighed in, including Cooper Koch, who portrayed Erik in the project. And as the actor noted, Erik’s negative reaction “definitely affected me and it made me feel things.”

“I sympathize with him, I empathize with him,” Cooper continued in an interview with Variety published Sept. 25. “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.”

When it comes down to it, the 28-year-old hoped to create a nuanced portrayal of the younger Menendez brother.

“I just really wanted to do as much research and dig really deep into myself to really portray him with integrity,” he added, “and just be as authentic as possible to support him and also to support his family and all the people who stand with him.”

However, Nathan Lane—who played journalist Dominick Dunne—felt Menendez’s negative assessment rang hollow considering he hadn’t watched the series.

“He’s just criticizing it and condemning it without ever having seen it, so one has to take that with a grain of salt,” the Emmy winner said. “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.”

But Javier Bardem—who portrayed José Menendez—empathized with the reaction from Erik, who along with his brother was found guilty of the murders in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

“It’s absolutely normal, logical and legitimate to say what you think about your own life being on a show,” the Oscar winner explained, noting he hadn’t read Erik Menendez’s full statement. “I support that. Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan give different perspectives, different views of the same issue because nothing is set in stone. That also includes the way to perform the character.”

The statements come after Ryan weighed in on Erik’s criticism, noting he hopes the now-53-year-old, who called the limited series a “dishonest portrayal of the tragedies” in a statement, will get to screen the show.

“I think the show is very interesting—what we're trying to do is show many, many, many, many perspectives,” he told E! News Sept. 23. “In every episode, you are given a new theory based on people who were either involved or covered the case.”

The brothers, who accused their parents of physical and sexual abuse in the years leading up to the killings, will tell their side of what happened in the upcoming documentary The Menendez Brothers, streaming Oct. 7 on Netflix.

“Everyone asks why we killed our parents,” Lyle said via telephone from prison in the Sept. 23 trailer for the doc. “Maybe now people can understand the truth.”