Who is Dominick Dunne, the dinner party throwing journalist in Monsters on Netflix?

There are a lot of people pivotal to the Lyle and Erik Menendez Story that Ryan Murphy chooses to give space to in his new Netflix series Monsters, but one of the most intriguing is Dominick Dunne. Played in the show by Nathan Lane, Dominick Dunne crops up a couple of times earlier on in the show but takes a more prominent role in the final three episodes of the series as an emotional personal investment in a case regarding his daughter makes him incredibly invested in the outcome of Lyle and Erik’s trial – particularly because their represented by lawyer Leslie Abramson. But who actually is Dominick Dunne, and what do you need to know about him that Monsters on Netflix leaves out?

Dominick Dunne was a big cultural force in America

Before he started writing for Vanity Fair, like we saw in Monsters, Dominick Dunne was already instrumental in US culture. He was a big part in helping to bring landmark gay film The Boys in the Band to fruition. Incidentally, Ryan Murphy produced a Netflix remake of the film in 2020. Dominick Dunne had his life changed forever when his daughter Dominique was strangled to death by her abusive boyfriend John Sweeney. Sweeney got off on a manslaughter charge, which prompted a lot of outrage and even got condemnation from the judge who felt the jury had not made the right decision.

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Following his daughter’s death, Dominick Dunne became a frequent contributor to Vanity Fair – notably covering crime. His investment in the Lyle and Erik Menendez trial was heavily leaning towards the prosecution side and he openly did not believe the stories of abuse at the hands of Kitty and Jose that Lyle and Erik alleged on trial. He also wrote articles theorising that Lyle and Erik were involved romantically, incestuously. Ryan Murphy has said himself that the reason the show has controversially portrayed this is because it wanted to give space to Dominick Dunne’s stance.

He also wrote extensively about the OJ Simpson case

Ryan Murphy also adapted that story in 2016, where Dominick Dunne was portrayed by Robert Morse. Dominic Dunne followed the trial all the way up til 2008 – one of the final things he worked on before he passed away.

How do the dinner parties in Monsters factor in?

Dominick Dunne was discovered by the editor of Vanity Fair at a dinner party, so my interpretation of Monsters on Netflix showing Dominick Dunne unpicking the Menendez trial at dinner parties seemingly comes across as a nod to that. On the former editor in chief, Dunne said “Tina Brown literally discovered me. She found something in me that I didn’t know I possessed.” Tine Brown praised him, saying “Dominick had a voice that was so personal, that spoke to you right off the page. He just buttonholes you as soon as he starts, in his first sentence. And, that really is what a writer is, it’s a voice. I realised then that Vanity Fair had found its first voice. And we signed him up immediately and he became our first star writer and really, the defining voice of the magazine.”

Monsters implies about Dunne’s sexuality

Dominick Dunne was actually bisexual, and the conversation he has at the tail end of one of his dinner parties does imply this but doesn’t go into detail. Dunne aid in 2009 that he would describe himself as “a closeted bisexual celibate.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Cooper Koch ‘cares immensely’ about Menendez brothers and ‘stands with them’ amid Monsters backlash

• Um, Kim Kardashian just visited Erik and Lyle Menendez in prison after Monsters backlash

• Wait, did Erik Menendez actually meet OJ Simpson in prison or was it made up for Monsters?