Erik Menendez Met Actor Cooper Koch of Ryan Murphy Series During a Prison Visit

The actor portraying Erik Menendez in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story said he had a “powerful” and “emotional” face-to-face prison visit with him, despite the convicted murderer brothers’ criticism of the show.

Cooper Koch, who plays the younger Menendez brother, told the Hollywood Reporter that he and Erik recognized each other almost immediately. “We walked in the gymnasium, and the first person that I saw was Erik. And we locked eyes, and he smiled and I smiled, and we hugged each other,” he said.

Both brothers, according to the actor, “were so kind, and they’re so normal” later adding that “they’re both incredible people.”

Koch’s visit was reportedly brokered by Kim Kardashian, who has become an advocate for prison reform. The reality television star invited him and others to R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility to meet with the Menendez brothers, who have been working on a 1,000-foot long mural project at the detention center.

According to Koch, Erik complimented the actor’s performance in the series, despite having never watched it, and talked about the alleged sexual abuse experienced by the Menendez brothers at the hands of their father. “I spoke to him about it, which was insane for me,” the actor continued.

The pair also reportedly discussed backlash over creative decisions in the show and script. The weekend after the debut of Monsters, Erik called the portrayal of him and his brother “naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent” in a statement.

The brothers’ extended family also slammed Murphy and Netflix for spreading “outright falsehood” and said they were “victimized by this grotesque shockadrama.”

Murphy, the show’s creator, dismissed the Menendez family’s reaction as “predictable at best,” and claimed his show was the “best thing that has happened to the Menendez brothers in 30 years.”

When speaking to Erik about the statement, however, Koch said he empathized with his concerns. “I feel for him. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have the worst parts of your life be portrayed on television in this fictionalized, dramatized way, you know, and so I just told him that I stand with him. I understand how that must feel and that it’s really difficult,” the actor explained.