Erik Menendez attacks Ryan Murphy over portrayal of parent murders
Convicted killer says Netflix series Monsters twists reality and ignores the abuse suffered by him and his brother Lyle at the hands of their father.
One of two brothers convicted of the brutal murder of their parents has condemned a blockbuster Netflix drama series retelling the case, as producers in the true-crime genre face mounting criticism for their handling of real-life events.
Ryan Murphy, the prolific television producer known for his extravagant portrayals of ripped-from-the-headlines stories, returned this month with Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
The series, which surged to the top of Netflix’s most-watched list despite middling reviews, retells the murders of a wealthy Beverly Hills couple at the hands of their sons in 1989.
The trial of Erik and Lyle Menendez, then 18 and 21 respectively, was a national sensation when it was broadcast on Court TV and ushered in a new televised era of criminal justice, ultimately laying the ground for the OJ Simpson case.
The Brothers were convicted of murder and jailed for life in 1996. They had claimed they feared for their lives after confronting their father, Jose Menendez, about years of alleged sexual abuse.
The case features all the hallmarks of a Murphy show – wealth, sex, glamour and crime – but Erik, now 53, has accused the producer of intentionally distorting the real-life events with “blatant lies”.
“Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander,” he said in a statement shared by his wife on X.
“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward – back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women.”
Murphy responded in defence of the series, including the incestuous relationship between the brothers that is hinted at. One episode features a scene where they shower together.
“If you watch the show, what the show is doing is presenting the points of view and theories from so many people who were involved in the case,” Murphy told Entertainment Tonight.
Jose Menendez, a successful music industry executive, and his wife Kitty were shot dead at short range with a shotgun at their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.
Detectives initially suspected that the mafia was involved before charging the brothers, now 56. They were jailed for life without parole.
Their supporters insist there was a miscarriage of justice, however, arguing that the alleged sexual and emotional abuse Erik and Lyle claimed to have suffered at the hands of their father supported their case for self-defence.
Kim Kardashian, who has campaigned for prison reform, visited a jail near San Diego on Saturday to speak with a group of inmates including the Menendez brothers.
She was joined by Cooper Koch, who plays Erik in the Netflix series. Javier Bardem and Chloe Sevigny star as the murdered parents while Nicholas Chavez portrays Lyle. Netflix is also working on a documentary about the case due to be released on October 7, featuring interviews with the brothers.
Murphy, 58, has been an extraordinarily successful television producer but his output for Netflix has received a mixed response from critics and accusations that he is exploiting real-life tragedies.
Murphy’s true-crime shows include a series based on the Jeffrey Dahmer murders, which provoked a backlash from the families of the serial killer’s victims.
Kayleigh Donaldson, a pop culture writer and critic, said Murphy has become a “parody of himself”.
Much of his earlier work, including American Horror Story, had a “soapy element” which he has struggled to translate to the true-crime genre, according to Donaldson.
“It’s difficult when you’re dealing with real life, especially well-documented real life, as the Menendez brothers case is,” she said.
“And there’s an even trickier element here of having these very serious accusations of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of their father at the centre of it.”
Series based on real-life events have presented legal headaches for producers. Netflix has been sued multiple times, including over its Emmy-winning series Baby Reindeer.
The woman who allegedly inspired the violent stalker at the centre of the show accused the streaming giant of defamation and sued for dollars 170 million in California. Netflix is fighting the case.
Donaldson said that while the true-crime genre is not going away any time soon – it remains immensely popular with viewers – producers could be more responsible.
“There needs to be sort of a systemic reckoning on this front,” she said of viewers who consider real-life stories as purely content to be devoured.
“But also you’re going to need platforms like Netflix, showrunners like Ryan Murphy and all of these podcasters recording out of their basements, to accept some responsibility.”
The Times
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