Ryan Murphy never spoke to us

The entire Menendez family is now sharing their thoughts on the Netflix series Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendezin which he accuses co-creator Ryan Murphy of never speaking to the relatives of Erik and Lyle Menendez, the imprisoned brothers who are the subjects of the hit series Murphy and Ian Brennan.

In a sharp statement from the 24-member extended Menendez family shared on social media Early Thursday morning, family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez begin their letter by saying that after the brothers were imprisoned for more than three decades — for the 1989 murders of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez — “they know, love and …”want them to be at home with us.”

The family subsequently called the true-crime drama a “phobic, gross, anachronistic, episodic serial nightmare that is not only full of falsehoods and outright untruths, but also ignores recent exculpatory revelations.”

vocation Monster The family said it was a “grotesque shock drama” and had become “victims” of the series, which has been the No. 1 US series on Netflix since its release on September 19.

“Murphy claims he spent years researching the case, but in the end he relied on exposed Dominick Dunne, the law enforcement hacker, to justify his smears against us and never spoke to us,” said the family about the prolific producer and showrunner, whose anthology series includes American crime story, American horror story And American sports historyamong many others.

The family kept calling Monster a “character assassination” and said they “know what went on in their home and what an unimaginably turbulent life they have endured,” adding that several witnessed the “many atrocities that should never be witnessed.”

They ended their statement by denying Murphy and Netflix “and everyone else involved” the series because they had “no understanding of the impact of years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.” Maybe so Monster it’s all about Ryan Murphy.”

Erik Menendez's wife, Tammi Menendez, shared the statement on your X account He said it was on behalf of Erik's aunt, Joan VanderMolen, and the Menendez family. The note was addressed to the Netflix show and to Murphy. Tammi had previously shared Erik's answer, which was widely reported (including by The Hollywood Reporter). The Menendez brothers are incarcerated at the Donovan Correctional Facility in California and do not have access to Netflix in prison. The Hollywood Reporter spoke last week with journalist and Menendez trial expert Robert Rand, who said Erik likely received a description of the series' portrayal of him and Lyle from his wife.

A day after the series' release, Erik criticized the series, Netflix and Murphy in a statement, saying: “Their dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime has taken the painful truths several steps backwards – back to a time when the prosecution was a “The narrative built a belief system that men were not sexually abused and that men experienced rape trauma differently than women.”

Murphy then responded to Erik's reaction by sympathizing with and defending the research that went into the series, which portrays the case of real-life brothers played by Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch.

“I find that interesting [Erik] “In his quote, he doesn't mention that if you look at the show, I would say 60 to 65 percent of our show, in the scripts and in the film form, is about the abuse and what supposedly happened to them,” had Murphy said said. “And we do it very carefully, and we give them time in court, and they talk openly about it. In this age when people can really talk about sexual abuse, it can be controversial to talk about it and write about it and write about all points of view.”

Monster was also criticized by viewers for some scenes depicting an incestuous relationship between the adult brothers (some of the sexualized interactions include kisses by the brothers). During his retrial in 1995, Lyle testified that he had abused Erik as children. In the series, the brothers each discuss this as adults with their lawyer Leslie Abramson, played by Ari Graynor, while recounting the abuse they suffered at the hands of their father.

Erik's statement did not directly address the show's implication that the brothers are lovers. But Rand told it THR This week, that account is false, and more about what others involved in the trial thought at the time, mentioning that it was a “fantasy in the mind of Dominick Dunne,” the reporter the Menendez family mentioned in their statement is portrayed in the series by Nathan Lane. “During the trial, rumors circulated that Erik and Lyle may have had a strange relationship,” Rand said, adding, “I don't believe Erik and Lyle Menendez were ever lovers.”

Murphy addressed Dunne's point of view directly on the series, saying: Monster takes a “Rashomon approach” to storytelling over the course of the nine episodes.

“There were four people involved – two of them are dead,” Murphy said of José and Kitty Menendez, portrayed by Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny in the series. “What about the parents? As storytellers, we had a duty to also try to include their perspective based on our research, and we did.”

When asked directly about the implication that the brothers had a sexual relationship, Murphy said: “If you watch the show, the show presents the viewpoints and theories of so many people who were involved in the case.” Dominick Dunne has several Article written about this theory. We present his point of view, just as we present the point of view of Leslie Abramson. And we had a duty to show all of that, and we did.”

The series explores Erik and Lyle's claims that RCA executive José Menendez abused his sons since they were children, while his wife knew about it and never intervened. At one point in the series, during a pitch episode for Lyle, “The Hurt Man,” Graynor's Abramson heartbreakingly summarizes to Lyle (Chavez) that he was raped by his father hundreds of times throughout his life, after Lyle carefully describes it in detail Years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse he suffered. The episode follows Erik (Koch)'s confessions about the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. According to the series, after José stopped abusing Erik, he turned to Lyle.

That was the defense that Lyle and Erik Menendez's legal team put forward in court after the brothers shot their parents to death in the cave of their Beverly Hills estate on August 20, 1989. Their sons, fearing for their lives, were presented in the separate trials rejected by half of the two deadlocked jurors and then excluded from mention in a second joint retrial in which they were found guilty. After being convicted of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, both boys were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

More than a decade of appeals were dismissed by California courts, but before Murphy's show and before the Menendez brothers' release became a TikTok petition, a habeas corpus petition was filed in 2023 in hopes of overturning their sentences and them to be released from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, where they have been housed in separate cells since 2018. Rand, who uncovered new evidence in the case, is also committed to fighting for her freedom.

In the upcoming Netflix documentary, the brothers will also tell their stories in their own words through audio interviews from prison for the first time in 30 years The Menendez brothersStreaming October 7th. The project was announced shortly afterwards Monster Netflix promised: “Through in-depth audio interviews with Lyle and Erik, the lawyers involved in the trial, journalists who covered it, jurors, family members and other informed observers, acclaimed Argentine director Alejandro Hartmann offers new insights and a fresh perspective on a case.” that people just think they know.”

Netflix has not yet commented on Menendez's comments about the series; THR reported again on Thursday.

Kevin Dolak contributed to this story.