Netflix’s Menendez Brothers Series Fabricates ‘Ruinous’ Lies

Published: September 25, 2024

Netflix’s Menendez Brothers Series Fabricates ‘Ruinous’ Lies

By Movieguide® Contributor

Netflix’s MONSTERS: THE LYLE AND ERIK MENENDEZ STORY is drawing criticism, as many are pointing out that the more salacious elements of the series were fabricated by the showrunners.

While the series is full of shocking content, the thing that most viewers and experts are taking issue with is the insinuation that there was an incestuous relationship happening between the brothers. Multiple scenes allude to a romantic relationship that multiple sources say is completely false.

“I don’t believe that Erik and Lyle Menendez were ever lovers. I think that’s a fantasy that was in the mind of Dominick Dunne [the reporter portrayed in the series by Nathan Lane],” Robert Rand, who extensively covered the trial at the time and wrote the definitive book on the case, The Menendez Murders, told The Hollywood Reporter.

He continued, “Rumors were going around the trial that maybe there was some sort of weird relationship between Erik and Lyle themselves. But I believe the only physical contact they might have had is what Lyle testified, that when Lyle was 8 years old, he took Erik out in the woods and played with him with a toothbrush — which is what [their father] José had done with him. And so I certainly wouldn’t call that a sexual relationship of any sort. It’s a response to trauma.”

Erik Menendez has also spoken out against the portrayal of him and his brother in MONSTERS.

“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant likes rampant in the show,” he said in a statement posted by his wife Tammi. “I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”

Menendez continued, “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.”

“Those awful lies have been disrupted and exposed by countless brave victims over the last two decades who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out. So now Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander,” he concluded. “Is the truth not enough?”

MONSTERS, developed by Ryan Murphy, has drawn many negative reviews, with The Hollywood Reporter calling it “a gross teeter-totter of credulity that, depending on the moment, runs the risk of cheapening either two brutal deaths or a decade of molestation, all in the name of rehashing a case that has been amply rehashed over the years.”

Variety’s review stated that “the bigger issue is who and where we are as a society,” explaining, “When we engage in the platforming of murderous and unwell people, no matter how heinous their upbringings may have been, we lean into our own unchecked monstrosities.”

This type of controversy is not new for Murphy. The first installment of his MONSTERS series told the story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Many took issue with the way his crimes were portrayed, including the families of his victims. Movieguide® previously reported:

The family of one of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s victim’s says the new Netflix show is profiting off their pain and is re-traumatizing those who lived through it.

“It’s sad that they’re just making money off of this tragedy. That’s just greed,” says Rita Isbell, sister of Erroll Lindsey. “The episode with me was the only part I saw. I didn’t watch the whole show. I don’t need to watch it. I lived it. I know exactly what happened.”

Both members of the family state that no one notified their family was about to be exploited yet again for the sake of entertainment.

Isbell writes:

When I saw some of the show, it bothered me, especially when I saw myself — when I saw my name come across the screen and this lady saying verbatim exactly what I said.

If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought it was me. Her hair was like mine, she had on the same clothes. That’s why it felt like reliving it all over again. It brought back all the emotions I was feeling back then.

I was never contacted about the show. I feel like Netflix should’ve asked if we mind or how we felt about making it. They didn’t ask me anything. They just did it.

Even mainstream critics know the show is done in poor taste.

“Reducing most of the victims and their families to their pain is closer to exploiting that pain than honoring any memories.” according to The Hollywood Reporter.