Ryan Murphy’s newest show “Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story” has caused major controversy. The show is to be a story of the Menendez brothers’ infamous trial in the early 1990s, which revolved around them shooting and killing their parents. The brothers were 18 and 21 years old at the time of the killings and went through a three-year trial where abuse within the family was alleged.
The brothers have continuously shared their story of alleged sexual abuse against their father, José. Both brothers are from a wealthy family in Beverly Hills, California; they have both claimed that they killed their parents in self-defense out of fear that their parents were plotting to kill them.
After two hung juries, a second trial was permitted, where both brothers were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Murphy has spun this series to show the case from different perspectives or sides including the brothers the parents, the media and the jury.
Was this representation necessary or accurate? Absolutely not. The Menendez family claims to have not been contacted about the creation of the show and have called it “a phobic, gross, anachronistic, serial episodic nightmare that is not only riddled with mistruths and outright falsehoods but ignores the most recent exculpatory revelations.”
Throughout the short series, Murphy continuously sexualizes the Menendez brothers. He implies that they had an incestuous relationship, even showing them kissing in some scenes. While Murphy claims to simply be depicting a theory about the brothers, his methods are incredibly disrespectful and disgusting. Murphy insinuates that Erik is gay and includes lengthy anecdotes of him speaking about a past relationship with a man. Erik himself has asserted multiple times that he is not gay and that this claim has no evidence.
101 witnesses testified for the defense of Erik and Lyle Menendez. In Murphy’s show, only a small handful of testimonies were included. While Murphy couldn’t include every testimony of the brothers when we look at the testimonies included for José Menendez, Murphy seemed to favor the father’s side. Including positive testimonies of José’s character, which did happen to an extent, was unsettling to watch, with the dichotomy of the brothers’ trauma presented.
The character of Lyle Menendez as portrayed in Murphy’s show is aggressive and vile, which his brother Erik claims is not the case. Erik stated, “I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show. I can only believe they were done so on purpose.”
Murphy has stated that “I’ll tell you my thoughts about the Menendez brothers. The Menendez brothers should be sending me flowers. 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.” Murphy himself has never met the brothers and said, “I have no interest in meeting them.” Murphy is profiting off the brothers’ trauma; with his fan base and esteem in the television industry, that is truly a scary thing.
Despite the atrocity of this show, the actors did a wonderful job with what they were given. Cooper Koch is the standout star as Erik Menendez. Koch performs a 35-minute monologue, filmed in one single take in the fifth episode of the series. Nicholas Chavez gave a solid performance despite his character as Lyle Menendez being labeled as inaccurate by family members. Another standout performance in the series comes from Ari Graynor, who plays defense attorney Leslie Abramson. Graynor not only looks like Abramson, but captures her feisty persona and voice to the letter.
The ending of “Monsters,” was emotionally impactful though inaccurate, and features a bizarre closing scene. Not only is this scene a complete non-sequitur, but it also depicts José and Kitty Menendez in a comedic light. Was this an attempt from Murphy to “lighten the mood?” Regardless, this scene felt inappropriate and off-putting considering the brothers’ horrific testimonies.
The only positive thing to come out of Murphy’s creation is the possible resentencing of the brothers’ case. With the case getting more and more attention, California has officially hired prosecutors to review new evidence regarding the case after the Menendez brothers had spent 35 years in separate prisons. Lyle, now 56 years old, and Erik, now 53, have recently been reunited and moved into the same prison. They were originally sentenced to life in a security level prison without parole. However, with millions of people calling for a retrial, the brothers could gain a new, lesser sentence. The brothers, along with their families and Netflix, have released their own documentary streaming now called “The Menendez Brothers.” This documentary provides firsthand anecdotes and interviews from the brothers themselves, along with their family members.
We can argue that “Monsters” is an entertaining show, but that should not be the principle we judge on. This show spreads falsehoods instead of facts and is a blatant exploitation of a tragic and utterly traumatizing situation. Erik’s wife Tammi shared his statement regarding the show on X. Entertainment in television is important, but when a creator is tasked with how portrayal can affect real-life people, facts are the most important thing.
Olivia Baier can be reached at [email protected]
