Convicted murderer Erik Menendez may have received a harsh verdict from Ryan Murphy’s controversial Netflix series. Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez, about the multi-faceted portrayal of the murder of their parents by him and his brother Lyle Menendez in 1989 and the criminal trials that followed. But the California inmate, who is serving life behind bars, had high praise for the actor who portrayed him when the two met in person last week during a prison visit mediated by Kim Kardashian.

Cooper Koch, the breakout star of the hit series, said The Hollywood Reporter that when he arrived at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility for a visit to discuss prison reform and the Menendez brothers’ massive mural project at the San Diego County complex, he and the man he portrayed – with renewed sympathy in a praised performance – clocked each other almost immediately.

“We walked through the gym (of the prison) and the first person I saw was Erik. And we looked at each other, and he smiled and I smiled, and we hugged. And it was really powerful and emotional. It was a great experience,” Koch said, referring to Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were both at the event. “And he – they were both so nice, and they’re so normal.”

The trip was a last-minute, whirlwind affair for Koch, who received an unexpected FaceTime call from Kardashian just days before the trip as the series premiered on Netflix. The reality star has been an advocate for incarcerated individuals since 2018 when a Mic.com video of then-inmate Alice Johnson went viral and inspired the reality TV megastar to advocate for and ultimately help free the grandmother from a life sentence who she was trafficked for drugs. Kardashian invited Koch, along with her and others, on a planned trip to the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility to meet with the Menendez brothers, who have been working on a 1,000-foot-long mural that will climb the concrete walls of part of the prison. called Echo Yard.

Koch said THR that he and Erik Menendez were able to spend some one-on-one time talking. At one point during their face-to-face conversation, the man he has spent more than a year working to redefine as a sympathetic victim of parental sexual, physical and emotional abuse praised him for his work – even though he hasn’t seen the series yet.

“One of the first things Erik said was, ‘I know you’re doing well. You did a great job in episode five (“The Hurt Man”) and I’m going to watch it. I just know, it’s hard,” Koch recalled saying about the bottle episode midway through the series, in which Koch’s Erik describes his father’s alleged sexual and emotional abuse. “And I talked to him about it, which was crazy to me.”

Koch said the two then talked about the backlash the show has received due to certain creative decisions made in the script that some see as a deeply problematic revision of history. The weekend after Monsters debuted on Netflix, Erik Menendez released a statement calling the portrayal of him and his brother “naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives, to do so without bad intentions.”

Days later, Murphy fired back, defending the series and the many perspectives and theories presented on the brothers’ case, including the insinuations of incest between the two that were included and intended to undermine reporter Dominick Dunne’s suggestion about their relationship to represent. This week, the war of words continued when two dozen members of the Menendez brothers’ extended family released another statement labeling the series a “character assassination” and claiming its “falsehoods” had victimized the entire Menendez family. Murphy then doubled down and said his show is the best thing to happen to the brothers “in 30 years” as their case is now a hot topic.

“I talked to him about his statement,” Koch said THR. “And you know, I just told him I understand where he’s coming from. I sympathize with him. I can’t imagine what it must be like to see the worst parts of your life portrayed on television in this fictionalized, dramatized way, you know, and so I just told him I had his back. I understand what that must feel like and that it is very difficult.”

The Menendez brothers have exhausted all appeals over the years and decided to spend their lives in prison without the possibility of parole. But recently their father was accused of sexual abuse by a former member of the 1980s boy band group Menudo, and author Robert Rand came across hard evidence showing that José Menendez likely abused his sons. Now, through a habeas corpus petition, the Menendez brothers could receive a new sentence for their 1989 crime, potentially reducing time served and allowing them to be released after 30 years.

Koch said he really hopes this becomes a reality for the brothers.

“They have done so much fantastic work in the prison,” he said. “Erik teaches meditation. He gives speech lessons. They are both incredible people. I think people at the time just didn’t believe that sexual abuse between men was something you could believe, and that the easier pill to swallow was killing their parents for money. But now, after so much time, I think people are more open to understanding that something like this happened.”

Koch added that the brothers even found an advocate in an unexpected person after their years as model prisoners at the R,J. Donovan Correctional Facility.

“The director himself told me that he felt that he would be happy to have them as neighbors and that he would enjoy having them watch his children,” Koch said. THR. “I think that says a lot!”

Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez is now streaming on Netflix.