Emmys Snub This Latino Actor from ‘Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story’
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 16: (L-R) Javier Bardem, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Cooper Koch, and Chloë Sevigny attend Netflix's "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" | LA Premiere at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on September 16, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix)
Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story, the Ryan Murphy series, which received its fair share of criticism for its less-than-accurate portrayal of the story of the siblings, has gotten four Emmy nominations at the 2025 Emmy Awards. However, the one Latino actor in the main cast was the only one not to receive a nomination.
This is especially ironic considering the show is based on the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were convicted of murdering their parents, Kitty and José Menendez, on August 20, 1989. José Menendez was a Cuban immigrant who came to the United States with his parents. Despite this fact, Murphy cast Javier Bardem, a frequent offender in the category of playing Latinos, in the role of José, and Cooper Koch in the role of younger brother Lyle. Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who plays Erik, is the only Latino among the main actors.
Queue the 2025 Emmy nominations, which saw the show nominated for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Cooper Koch nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, Javier Bardem nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and Chloe Sevigny nominated for Best Supporting Actress. That’s three-quarters of the actors playing the Menendez family getting nominations, minus the one member of our community.
Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story drew criticism from the real Erik Menendez, who called out the series’ veracity via his wife Tammi’s social media account.
“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward — back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women. Those awful lies have been disrupted and exposed by countless brave victims over the last two decades who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out,” Menendez said.
Erik and Lyle Menendez were both convicted in 1996 to life without parole for the murders, but a judge resentenced them both to 50 years to life in May, which makes them eligible for parole. The two now await the decision of the parole board. Simultaneously, the brothers have submitted a clemency request, which must be heard by California Governor Gavin Newsom.