Following a trend for Murphy productions about killers, the Menendez family has released a statement condemning Ryan Murphy’s latest series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. However, Murphy isn’t afraid to bite back, including in a recent interview. The cast also stood by Murphy and co-showrunner Ian Brennan.
#NotTheirNetflixSeries
September 20, 2024: The Menendez family called the portrayal of the brothers in the series “naïve and inaccurate.” “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 naïve and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent,” Erik Menendez wrote on Lyle’s Facebook page after the show’s debut. “So now Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander.”
Murphy’s series centers on the Menendez brothers’ murder trial and the claim that the siblings killed their parents, José and Mary Louise “Kitty,” in an act of self-defense, not for the large inheritance they bore to gain. They accused their parents of physical and emotional abuse and accused their father of sexually abusing them as children. “Obviously, anyone who watched the testimony of Lyle or any testimony about Lyle knows that Murphy created a fictional character,” the post from the Menendez family continued. “The character was so over the top and absurd that even if this was billed as fiction, it would be boring, ridiculous, unimaginative, and clearly written by writers who perhaps should have been writing the deep dialogue that shows up in porn movies.” It’s currently unclear if they’ve ever watched another Murphy series before watching this one. The page does promote the upcoming Netflix docuseries about the brothers.
Uno Reverse Card
At the premiere of Grotesquerie, Murphy dealt an Uno reverse card to the brothers, criticizing them for … not having a Netflix subscription. He explained to Entertainment Tonight, “I think it’s interesting that he’s issued a statement without having seen the show. I know he hasn’t seen the show in prison. I hope he does see the show … It’s really, really hard — if it’s your life — to see your life up onscreen.”
The Cast Reacts
September 25, 2024: Javier Bardem, Nathan Lane, and Cooper Koch have all reacted to Erik Menendez’s objections to Monsters. Variety rounded up their responses. Lane, who plays Dominick Dunne, is aligned with Murphy. Lane said Erik may want to watch the show before condemning it. “You know, he hasn’t seen the show,” he said. “He’s just criticizing it and condemning it without ever having seen it, so one has to take that with a grain of salt. Obviously, to have your life portrayed this way in a Netflix miniseries … he wasn’t one of the producers, so not everything might be flattering or make you happy. But I would say you should probably see it before you speak out again.”
Bardem, on the other hand, sees it as “absolutely normal, logical and legitimate” to have concerns about a dramatization of your life’s darkest moments. The actor, who plays Menendez pater familias José, also underscored the show’s Rashomon-esque approach to the truth. “Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan give different perspectives, different views of the same issue because nothing is set in stone,” he said.
Koch, who plays Erik, says his real-life counterpart’s reaction “definitely affected” him and made him “feel things.” But he stands by the research he did on portraying Erik accurately. “I get it. I understand how difficult it would be to have the worst part of your life be televised for millions of people to see. It’s so exposing. I understand how he feels and I stand by him,” he said. “In terms of approaching him and approaching the part, I just really wanted to do as much research and dig really deep into myself to really portray him with integrity and just be as authentic as possible to support him and also to support his family and all the people who stand with him.”
Murphy’s Not Done
October 1, 2024: Murphy previously already commented on Erik Menendez’s negative reaction to Monsters, but it turns out he’s got more to say. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he criticized the Menendez brothers for “playing the victim card.” Murphy described the show as a “broad canvas” that includes stories of multiple real-life figures. “We had an obligation to so many people, not just to Erik and Lyle,” he said. “But that’s what I find so fascinating; that they’re playing the victim card right now — ‘poor, pitiful us’ — which I find reprehensible and disgusting.”
In the same interview, Murphy said he thought the brothers should actually be sending him flowers for the increased global attention on their case. “I know for a fact that many people have offered to help them because of the interest of my show and what we did,” he said. “There is no world that we live in where the Menendez brothers or their wives or lawyers would say, ‘You know what, that was a wonderful, accurate depiction of our clients.’ That was never going to happen, and I wasn’t interested in that happening.” And no, he’s not going to watch Netflix’s Menendez Brothers documentary.