Monsters: The Lyle and Erick Menendez Story, Ryan Murphy’s new series for Netflix, has sparked a wave of criticism for the great creative freedom the director took in telling the story of the Menendez brothers who were sentenced to life in prison in 1989.
Social media users and fans of Murphy’s series have criticized the poor handling of the story, which shows the brothers in an “almost incestuous” relationship. Among the criticisms is that the series has prioritized sensationalism, above the real story of abuse that the brothers claim to have been victims of. To no one’s surprise, since the same thing happened with the first season of Monsters, telling the story of Jeffrey Dahmer.
Faced with this situation, Erik Menendez, through his wife, issued a statement in which he criticized Murphy and the representation of his story in the series.
“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. 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,” he said.
Erik Menendez’s wife shares statement from Erik in response to Ryan Murphy’s ‘Monsters’ series:
“I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent. […] How demoralizing to know that one man with power can… pic.twitter.com/SgdfMm129S
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 20, 2024
Social media users are also comparing the series with what really happened and the real reactions Menendez brothers had at the trials during that time. Are the series that bad?
the fact that the trained actors couldn’t even bring the type of emotions the menendez brothers showed just proves they weren’t lying. pic.twitter.com/oLwS5AW06D
— zam (@cuntchael) September 22, 2024
Kim Kardashian and ‘Monsters’ Star Visit Menendez Brothers After Released Series
Following controversy, reality star Kim Kardashian visited Menéndez brothers at the Richard J. Donovan Penitentiary on Saturday, according to specialized American media.
The influencer, who recently starred in American Horror Story: Delicate, was also accompanied by actor Cooper Koch, who plays Erik in the Netflix series, as well as producer Scott Budnick, Kim’s mother, Kris Jenner, and her sister Khloé Kardashian.
No further details have been released about the Menendez brothers meeting, except that the visit took place as part of the Greenspace initiative, a reform strategy aimed at improving prison yards to help inmate rehabilitation, led by Lyle and Erik Menendez, Deadline reported.
