"An exclusive chat with 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story' stars Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez dives into the controversial incest theories and whether the show is dramatized or sheds new light on the brothers’ trauma.
They share their thoughts on Ryan Murphy’s bold approach and the impact on understanding the Menendez case. 'Monsters' is now streaming on Netflix! "
They share their thoughts on Ryan Murphy’s bold approach and the impact on understanding the Menendez case. 'Monsters' is now streaming on Netflix! "
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00:00Hi, I'm Levi with Pride and Gaiety. Cooper, first questions for you. Eric's trauma from
00:05his father's abuse is really central to understanding why the brothers acted as they
00:09did. From what you've learned, do you think that the level of abuse could ever truly justify
00:17their actions? And how does this change the way we view trauma and the aftermath of it?
00:23Yeah, I think that, no, it does not justify them murdering their parents. I don't think that
00:28anything justifies killing someone. I do think, though, that things have changed in the past 35
00:34years and that we're more open to understanding victims of abuse and hearing them and believing
00:40them. And so I think we're having this story so that people understand that instead of choosing
00:47violence, they can and should go to somebody for help and talk about their experiences and what's
00:54happening to them so that we can avoid violence and we can get people the help that they need.
00:58And yeah. Eric, listen to me. Do not act like a goddamn pussy. It's all right. It's all right.
01:08I love you. I love you. I love you too. It's up to us now, right? And they would be proud of us.
01:19They would be proud of us. What did you say yesterday? What did you say to me?
01:21Tell me. That I think that they would be proud of us. Eric, I know that they would be proud of us.
01:37And Nicholas, the question I have for you is, as the older brother, kind of taking on this
01:43protective role over Eric, how do you believe that their bond shaped their decisions leading
01:49up to the murders? And does this story challenge the idea of victimhood versus culpability?
01:59It's a really interesting question. I think Lyle certainly felt protective of his younger brother.
02:08And they were also the only people in the entire world who knew what the other person had been
02:15through. Both of them were sexually abused by their father. It's really dark stuff. And then I
02:26think that Lyle felt a very strong urge to protect his younger brother. And I think that it's difficult
02:38to understand their relationship without understanding the profound amount of love
02:44and care that likely existed between the two of them. And yeah.
02:54I'm going to open this question up to both of you and start with you, Cooper.
02:57Obviously, the show's had now a lot of media attention because the actual Menendez brothers
03:02have spoken out about it. How do you feel that the homoeroticism that is portrayed,
03:08and obviously, Ryan Murphy, this is kind of his thing, right? How do you feel those elements
03:17helped the story and helped audiences really experience what the two brothers went through?
03:24I don't know if it has much to do with what they went through. And I'm not sure if you're
03:30referencing Eric's stuff or the incestuous stuff. But I can speak on the incestuous stuff and just
03:38say that at the time, there were a lot of different theories about the brothers from a lot of
03:44different people and a lot of different perspectives. And this theory happened to be Dominic
03:48Dunn's perspective. And he was a character in the show. And I think it's getting a lot of backlash
03:56because people are taking it out of context when if they really watch the scene, there's a moment
04:02where after this conversation happens, where he shares this theory, he's sitting with all of his
04:06friends. And then it cuts to a shot from behind him. All the friends are gone. It's dark. The
04:10candles are lit, which I think, for me, reads as his theory is whack. So I think it's really
04:16trying to tell the audience actually that that theory is bonkers. And in terms of Eric's stuff,
04:23for example, the shower scene or his relationship with the boy that he mentions in episode five,
04:29I think those are examples of traumatic reenactment, which is something that
04:33happens to trauma victims. They try and go and reenact the things that they've been through to
04:38try and heal and cope with it. And so I think those things are actually there to further support
04:43the theory that the sexual abuse that happened was true and it did happen. And so I think that
04:48sort of further should actually help tell the story and help support the brothers and sympathizing
04:53with them. You have anything to add? No, I think that that was well put.
04:59Thank you very, very much. I'm running out of time, but I really appreciate you both.
05:02And I thought the show was great. Thank you so much. Thank you.