On September 19, Netflix dropped its true crime drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. It was the most-watched series on the streaming platform two weeks in a row (so far). However, creator Ryan Murphy recently spoke out about the backlash against the portrayal of the Menéndez brothers.
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Erik and Lyle Menéndez killed their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, in 1989. At the time, Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21. Although the brothers never denied the murders, they claimed they shot their parents after suffering years of abuse. Lyle and Erik claimed their father sexually and physically abused them while their mother allegedly enabled the behavior and also physically abused them.
Following the Menéndez brothers' highly publicized trial, they were sentenced to life in prison. They remain in prison today; Erik is 53 and Lyle is 56.
Many have taken issue with key details in the 'Monsters' portrayal of the Menéndez brothers.
In Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story, a key difference was Lyle and Erik's incestuous relationship. The series also portrayed Lyle using cocaine. These details were based on theories made by Vanity Fair journalist Dominick Dunne, although there is no evidence to support them, per Forbes.
After the series dropped, viewers criticized the depiction of Lyle and Erik.
Plenty of viewers took issue with Murphy taking liberties with the Menéndez brothers' story.
One X (formerly Twitter) user wrote: "please don’t watch the monsters/ menendez doc on netflix. it’s very gross how ryan murphy is demonizing abuse victims. vile, really."
Another X user complained, "Ppl who are watching monsters rn are f—ing weird, learn abt the actual case bc Ryan Murphy is a weird f— profiting off the Menendez brothers who were victims of their parents."
Meanwhile, someone else shared via X, "Episode 4 was the only episode I loved in the whole show coz it was so accurate to the real story , the real monsters were the parents not the menendez brothers , they were the victims, I was shocked and sobbing the whole time ."
Ryan recently made a bold statement in response to the backlash.
On October 1, Ryan spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about Monsters.
“The Menéndez brothers should be sending me flowers,” he told the publication. “They haven’t had so much attention in 30 years. And it’s gotten the attention of not only this country, but all over the world. There’s sort of an outpouring of interest in their lives and in the case.”
He added, “I know for a fact that many people have offered to help them because of the interest of my show and what we did."
Previously, he defended the 'Monsters' portrayal of the Menéndez brothers.
That wasn't the first time Ryan spoke out to defend Monsters. On September 23, at the premiere of Grotesquerie (another of his series), Ryan offered insight into how he approached the story.
“We know how it ended. We know two people were brutally shot," he told E! News. "Our view and what we wanted to do was present you all the facts and have you do two things: make up your own mind about who’s innocent, who’s guilty, and who’s the monster, and also have a conversation about something that’s never talked about in our culture, which is male sexual abuse, which we do responsibly.”
Lyle issued a statement on the day the series premiered.
Erik Menéndez's wife, Tammi, posted a statement from Erik via X on the day Monsters premiered. In it, he slammed Murphy for "bad intent." Erik also called out "vile and appalling character portrayals of [Lyle] and of me."
To that, Ryan made a valid point.
“I think that’s interesting because I know he hasn’t watched the show. So I find that curious,” Ryan told E! News. “I hope he does watch it. I think if he did watch it he would be incredibly proud of Cooper Koch who plays him.”
