Ella Beatty explains why Monster portrays Lizzie Borden as a lesbian following backlash

24 September 2026, 12:20 | Updated: 24 September 2026, 12:29

Ella Beatty explains why Monster portrays Lizzie Borden as lesbian following backlash. Picture: John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images, Netflix

By Sam Prance

In Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, Lizzie Borden is depicted as gay and she has a relationship with Bridget Sullivan.

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Monster has divided viewers over its decision to portray Lizzie Borden as queer and now Ella Beatty has spoken out.

In Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, Lizzie has a secret affair with the Borden family housemaid Bridget Sullivan. Not only that but the pair work together to murder Lizzie's father and stepmother. In real life, there's no actual evidence that Lizzie and Bridget had a romantic relationship or that Bridget helped plan to kill Abby and Andrew Borden.

The decision to portray Lizzie as a lesbian has sparked criticism from some viewers. So what does Monster actress Ella Beatty think? Here's what Ella's said about playing Lizzie as gay and why it was integral to the show.

Watch Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story

What was Lizzie Borden's sexuality? Was she a lesbian?

Whether or not Lizzie was a lesbian is something that people have debated for years. Lizzie never married or had any significant relationships with men. She also a had a close relationship with actress Nance O'Neil that sparked gossip during their lifetimes. However, there's no evidence beyond that to suggest that Lizzie was gay.

Discussing Lizzie's sexuality in Monster with Gayety, Ella explained: "She’s someone who’s incredibly sheltered and is really confined by her circumstances, both physically by a corset, but also literally by society and her family and her circumstance."

Ella then praised the romance with Bridget: "This relationship for her really opens up her eyes to the world and to herself. I think we can all relate to a person that we met in our lives that sort of changed everything."

She added: "There is no Lizzie in this season without that relationship. It’s everything."

What was Lizzie Borden's sexuality? Was she a lesbian? Picture: Netflix

Elaborating on her portrayal of Lizzie, Ella revealed: "I felt like my job was to play the human being. I hope interesting questions come out of it, but I just felt my job as the actress was to love and advocate for the person and hope that something beautiful and interesting could come from that."

She ended by saying: "Her sensibility as a person is vulnerable and soft, and those are things that I resonated with, but also I love. She taught me that it’s OK to also be soft and vulnerable."