(NewsNation) — The subjects of Netflix’s newest series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” are criticizing the show’s portrayal of their lives, crime and trial, with the younger brother calling it “disheartening slander.”
In August 1989, the brothers shot and killed their parents Kitty and José Menendez. It was a crime the pair, aged 21 and 18 at the time, claim came after years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.
They were tried separately in 1993 and then jointly in 1995, ultimately being convicted in 1996 for the Beverly Hills murders. They were sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole, though they are working to reopen the case.
Roughly 30 years after the trial took the nation by storm, Netflix’s new series has resurfaced the case —and its controversies. Those include dated perceptions of men as victims of sexual assault, claims of incest between the brothers and allegations they were after their parents’ wealth.
Series creator Ryan Murphy, who is known for his satirical and salacious slasher hits like “American Horror Story” and “Scream Queens,” isn’t backing down, even as the brothers themselves decry the show.
Erik Menendez: ‘A blatant lie’
Erik Menendez responded to the show in an X post shared by Tammi Menendez, his wife.
In the post, he explicitly blames Murphy for the show’s portrayal, saying he “cannot be this naïve and inaccurate about the facts of our lives,” adding that the show had to have been created with “bad intent.”
“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime has taken the painful truths several steps back — 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,” he wrote.
“So now [Ryan] Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander,” he added.
Defense attorney Alexandra Kazarian with Geragos & Geragos, the firm trying to get the Menendez brothers’ convictions thrown out, confirmed that Lyle Menendez shares the same sentiment.
Ryan Murphy responds to criticism
Murphy called the Menendez brothers’ reaction to his show “faux outrage,” telling Tudum the show “is the best thing that has happened to the Menendez brothers in 30 years in prison.”
“I think it’s very difficult to have your lives splashed all over the world, but I think that [the show is] doing a really wonderful job of having people talk about their case, talk about their innocence or their guilt, talk about [whether they] should have another trial, should they be freed?” he added.
“It’s informed an entire generation about that case and launched millions of conversations about sexual abuse.”
Two episodes show the pair engaging in what some believe is an incestuous relationship, with episode two showing the brothers kissing on the lips and episode six portraying their mother finding them showering together. Both testified in court that they’d never had a sexual relationship.
“It maybe is less than 1% of the show, but people have glommed onto that as if we’re presenting it as fact. No, we’re not. We’re presenting it as a theory, one of many theories that exist about this case,” Murphy said to Tudum.
“So we’re not advocating for anything. We’re merely presenting things that were discussed then, and now. I wish people could understand that a little bit better,” he added.
Brothers’ attorneys call show ‘ridiculous’
Attorney Mark Geragos, who represents Erik and Lyle Menendez, tells “Banfield” that Netflix’s new series is a horrible portrayal of the case.
He said it’s hard to believe that “anybody could have given voice to any of this nonsense, because it’s demonstrably untrue.” He added that Murphy’s portrayal relies on homophobic, outdated stereotypes.
Kazarian echoed disbelief about Murphy’s handling of the content, telling NewsNation: “I understand why he did what he did, because he’s in the industry he’s in. But he didn’t have to take artistic liberty with this.”