Cooper Koch receives Golden Globe nomination for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
Cooper Koch has been nominated for a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Erik Menendez in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures)
Gay star Cooper Koch has been nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Part of Ryan Murphy’s already-controversial Monsters anthology on Netflix, The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story dramatised the brothers’ 1989 murder of their parents. Both were sentenced to life in prison after claiming in court that they were sexually abused by their father.
Koch, who has a gay twin brother, played younger sibling Erik and, despite having rejected the idea of reprising the role, has been nominated for a Golden Globe in the best actor in a limited series category.
The other nominees, announced on Monday (9 December), include bisexual star Richard Gadd, for Baby Reindeer, and gay favourite Andrew Scott, for Ripley.
Wicked’s Ariana Grande and Emilia Pérez’s Selena Gomez will go head-to-head in the best performance by a female actor in a supporting role in an motion picture category. Trans story Emilia Pérez has a total of 10 nominations.
Grande’s co-star Cynthia Erivo has been recognised in the best female actor in a musical or comedy motion picture, while Daniel Craig has been given a nod for his LGBTQ+ role in Queer. Ayo Edibiri is nominated for her performance in The Bear, as are veteran queer star Jodie Foster, for True Detective, and Jessica Gunning for Baby Reindeer.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was criticised by viewers, who accused Murphy of creating “incestuous fetish porn”, and by the real Erik Menendez, who labelled the series purposefully “naive and inaccurate”.
However, Murphy responded by saying the brothers should be “sending him flowers” for the “publicity” generated by the series. A judge is set to hear new evidence in their case, and the Los Angeles County district attorney George Gascón has recommended lighter sentences, which could result in them being released.
The Golden Globes will take place on 5 January 2025.
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