Ryan Murphy Criticized for Monster’s ‘Tasteless’ Depiction of Closeted Gay Star

After facing backlash over Monster writers and producers taking creative 'liberties' regarding the depiction of the life of serial killer Ed Gein, Ryan Murphy is now being dragged over how late actor Anthony Perkins was portrayed in the anthology series.

via: Pink News

The writer-director has been called “tasteless” over the depiction of the closeted gay actor, who famously played Norman Bates in the 1960 film, Psycho. The film is one of several that has been based on Ed Gein over the years, others including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs.

Charlie Hunnam plays Gein in Monster, which examines Gein’s horrific acts including murders, the exhuming of corpses, and using body parts to create masks as well as furniture and utensils. The series also takes a look at the lasting impact Gein’s crimes had in the media.

Perkins (Joe Pollari) is introduced early on in the series, when he’s cast in Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock (Tom Hollander), which was partly inspired by Gein’s crimes.

Rumours about Perkins’ sexuality followed the actor since he made his Broadway debut in 1954’s Tea And Sympathy. Monster shows Perkins, who remained closeted his whole life, in a secret relationship with Hollywood heartthrob, Tab Hunter, who came out as gay in his 2005 memoir, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star in which he discussed the pair’s relationship.

The inclusion of Perkins and his story is an interesting addition to a series that could so easily focus purely on Gein. But it’s an addition that hasn’t gone down terribly well with viewers.

One scene shows Perkins and Hitchcock exploring the recreation of Gein’s house used for the Psycho set. While this is happening, Hitchcock monologues about “urges” commenting that “polite society burdens us with the fiction that these urges do not exist.”

He continues: “This transforms urges into secrets we must hide, and these secrets make us sick. Gein had a secret. A sexual function he could not express, and his inability to express his version of the sexual act turned inwards and transformed into sickness.”

Addressing Perkins directly Hitchcock says, “I chose you, because you alone understand this sickness. You have a secret Mr. Perkins, don’t you?” He adds: “And this secret is making you sick. I had to cast you, Anthony. You’re like him.”

During the scene, Hunnam’s Gein enters and makes a meal using a bowl made from a human skull. After Hitchcock has finished, he and Perkins stare at one another. Perkins is clearly fearful of the comparison and of himself potentially turning into Gein.

The series appears to draw a disturbing line between Gein’s horrendous crimes and Perkins’ closeted sexuality. And after the series debuted on Friday (3 October), some took to social media to air their views.

“Ryan Murphy is so tasteless to me man,” wrote one person on X/Twitter. If youre [sic] going to do an Anthony Perkins biopic, do an Anthony Perkins biopic and give him the respect he deserves. But you comparing Ed Gein being a closeted killer to him being a closeted gay man is homophobia.”

Similarly another viewer took issue with the connection made between Gein and Perkins adding, “Ryan Murphy hell is hot.”. Another person described the scenes as “unnecessary and false.”

On TikTok, one person called Murphy “insensitive” over the depiction of Perkins. However, someone else praised the episode as “a masterpiece” for explaining, “the feeling of being queer when everyone sees it as unclean or ‘monsterous’.”

The series also shows Perkins undergoing the now debunked practice of ‘conversion therapy’ by way of electroshock therapy. It’s a path recommended to him by psychologist Mildred Newman (Mimi Kennedy) who Perkins did work with in real life. Newman was an advocate of ‘conversion therapy,’ the act of trying to forcibly change someone’s sexuality or gender identity.

Murphy’s latest season of Monster is not the first to draw a backlash from viewers. Both the first two, focused on Jeffrey Dahmer and then Erik and Lyle Menendez, drew criticism.

The latter was criticised for glorifying true crime as well as sexualising the brothers’ relationship with each other. Erik even called out Murphy for his depiction of himself. Murphy responded saying the Menendez brothers should be thanking him for the interest in their case that he generated.

All episodes of Monster are available on Netflix.