Charlie Hunnam has defended his role in Netflix's 'Monster: The Ed Gein Story', as the series faces backlash for allegedly romanticising the real-life serial killer. The show, created by Ryan Murphy, is the latest in his controversial Monster anthology, which dramatises the lives of notorious American criminals.
Critics have accused the series of portraying Gein as an inspirational figure to other murderers, with one viewer on X writing: 'Loved the series but the ending threw me off. Ryan Murphy always do that... how are you giving your flowers to a serial killer?' Despite a 20 percent Rotten Tomatoes score from critics and 54 percent from audiences, the show topped Netflix's UK charts with 12.2 million views in its first three days.
In an interview before the series' release, Hunnam told The Hollywood Reporter: 'If people are compelled to talk about it and think about it, hopefully they'll actually be compelled to watch the show. What I would hope and feel really confident in is that it was a very sincere exploration of the human condition and why this boy did what he did.' He insisted the production never felt sensationalising or gratuitous, adding: 'It was all in order to try to tell this story as honestly as we could.'
Co-creator Ian Brennan echoed this, stating: 'This show is always trying to not be exploitative. It's trying to actually show that you can pull back too much when you're telling a macabre story. It's important that you tell the whole story even with the parts that are hard to watch.' Co-star Suzanna Son, who plays Gein's love interest, highlighted the lack of mental health institutions in 1950s America, saying she is 'angry' that Gein's schizophrenia went undiagnosed.
'Monster: The Ed Gein Story' is available to stream on Netflix.
