Erik Menendez criticizes Ryan Murphy’s “Monsters”: “Dishonest portrayal”

Erik Menendez is not very happy with Ryan Murphy's latest true crime anthology series Monster: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez.

The Netflix series tells the story of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who lived as brothers in real life and were convicted in 1996 of the murder of their parents José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez.

Erik shared in a statement posted on social media by his wife Tammi Menendez, “I thought we had moved past the lies and devastating character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle based on horrible and obvious likes that were rampant on the show. I can only believe this was done on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I must say that I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be so naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives to do this without malicious intent.”

“It saddens me to know that Netflix, with its dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime, has pushed the painful truths back several steps – back to a time when prosecutors built a narrative on the belief system that men were not sexually assaulted and that men experienced rape trauma differently than women,” the statement continued. “These horrific lies have been refuted and exposed over the past two decades by countless brave victims who have overcome their personal shame and courageously spoken out about it. And now Murphy is shaping his horrific narrative through vile and horrifying character portrayals of Lyle and me and disheartening slanders.”

“Isn’t the truth enough?” Erik added.

The Menendez case and trial became a media sensation in the early 1990s. During their original trial in 1993, the brothers claimed they shot their parents after years of being sexually abused by their father and with their mother's knowledge. After Erik and Lyle were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, both boys were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch play Lyle and Erik Menendez respectively in the series, with Javier Bardem as José, Chloë Sevigny as Kitty, Nathan Lane as Dominick Dunne and Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson.”Monster: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez delves into the historic case that took the world by storm, paving the way for today's audiences' fascination with true crime, and asks the audience in turn, “Who are the real monsters?” the show's logline states.

Erik concluded his statement by saying, “The truth must be the truth. How demoralizing it is to know that one man with power can undo decades of progress in resolving childhood trauma. Violence is never an answer, never a solution, and always tragic. So I hope it will never be forgotten that violence against a child creates a hundred horrific and silent crime scenes, darkly hidden behind glitz and glamour, rarely revealed until tragedy strikes all those involved. To all who have helped and supported me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”