Menendez Family Slams ‘Monsters’ Series: Ryan Murphy “Never Spoke to Us”

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As a seasoned journalist who has covered numerous high-profile cases, I can’t help but appreciate Ryan Murphy‘s approach in his series “Monsters” – it’s reminiscent of Akira Kurosawa’s “Rashomon,” where multiple perspectives are presented to create a nuanced and complex narrative. However, I must confess that my personal experiences with the Menendez case have always left me feeling like a character in a Greek tragedy, where the truth is often shrouded in shadows.

The entire Menendez family is expressing their views on the Netflix show “Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez“, claiming that Ryan Murphy, one of the show’s co-creators, has never reached out to the relatives of Erik and Lyle Menendez, the imprisoned brothers who are the main subjects of Murphy and Ian Brennan’s popular series.

In a heartfelt message posted on social media this morning, family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who have been in prison for over three decades following the 1989 murder of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, express that they deeply recognize and cherish their brothers, longing to see them back with the family.

Instead of saying “The family then went on to call the true-crime drama a ‘phobic, gross, anachronistic, serial episodic nightmare that is not only riddled with mistruths and outright falsehoods but ignores the most recent exculpatory revelations,'” you could rephrase it as “The family expressed their disapproval of the true-crime drama by describing it as a ‘fearful, offensive, outdated, ongoing series that is filled with errors, lies, and omits crucial evidence clearing the suspects.'” This version maintains the original’s meaning while using more natural and easy-to-understand language.

The family labeled the show Monsters as a “disturbing blend of horror and drama,” claiming they have suffered due to its content. Since its September 19th debut, it has remained the top-rated U.S. series on Netflix.

The family asserted that Murphy allegedly based his years of research on discredited sources like Dominick Dunne, a known supporter of the prosecution, to support his defamatory remarks against us, and they claim he never reached out to us directly,” they stated about the prominent creator, whose anthology series encompass American Crime Story, American Horror Story and American Sports Story, among numerous others.

The family referred to the accusations against them as a “defamation of character,” stating that they were well-aware of the events that transpired within their household and the challenging lives they had experienced. They also mentioned that several individuals had witnessed the “unspeakable horrors” that no one should ever be exposed to.

They concluded their remark, shifting focus to Murphy, Netflix, and everyone else associated with the series, implying they lacked awareness of the long-term consequences of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. It seems that in hindsight, perhaps Monsters is indeed a reflection of Ryan Murphy’s actions.

Erik Menendez’s spouse, Tammi Menendez, posted a statement on her social media account, X, claiming it came from Erik’s aunt, Joan VanderMolen, and the Menendez family. The message was directed at the Netflix show as well as Murphy. Previously, Tammi had shared Erik’s reaction, which received extensive coverage, including by The Hollywood Reporter. The Menendez brothers are currently imprisoned in Donovan Correctional Facility in California and do not have access to Netflix while incarcerated. Last week, The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Robert Rand, a journalist and Menendez trial expert, who suggested that Erik may have been given a summary of the series by his wife, describing how he and Lyle are portrayed in it.

Following the series’ release, Erik strongly criticized the production, Netflix, and Murphy, claiming their depiction of the crimes’ tragedies was misleading. He argued that this portrayal moved backwards in time, to a period when the legal system constructed narratives based on the belief that men could not be sexually abused and that they experienced rape trauma differently from women.

Later, Murphy addressed Erik’s response by expressing empathy and backing up the thorough investigation behind the series, a dramatization based on true events involving two brothers portrayed by actors Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch.

Murphy pointed out an aspect of the show that Erik doesn’t touch upon in his quote: a significant portion, around 60 to 65%, of our series, whether in scripts or film format, revolve around the allegations of abuse and what transpired. We handle this sensitive topic with care, providing them a platform to speak out, and discussing such topics can be contentious given today’s climate where sexual abuse is more openly discussed.

The show “Monsters” has received backlash from viewers due to certain scenes depicting an inappropriate relationship between adult brothers, which may involve kissing with sexual undertones. During his retrial in 1995, Lyle admitted to molesting Erik when they were children. In the series, the siblings disclose this traumatic event as adults to their attorney, Leslie Abramson (portrayed by Ari Graynor), while they recount the abuse they endured at the hands of their father.

In a way that didn’t explicitly challenge the suggestive portrayal of the brothers as lovers in the show, Rand clarified to The Hollywood Reporter this week that such a depiction is untrue. He elaborated by stating that it was more about the perspectives of those involved in the trial, suggesting that the idea was largely a product of Dominick Dunne’s imagination, as portrayed in the series by Nathan Lane. Rand also shared that rumors were circulating during the trial about a strange relationship between Erik and Lyle, but he himself doesn’t believe the brothers Menendez were ever lovers.

Murphy explicitly tackled the series, presenting it from Dunne’s perspective, and he stated that the narrative of “Monsters” adopts a “Rashomon-style” approach across the nine episodes.

Murphy mentioned that four individuals were part of the case – two of them have sadly passed away, specifically Jose and Kitty Menendez, who were played by Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny in the series. Regarding the parents, he stated that as storytellers, we felt it was our duty to attempt to present their viewpoint based on our research, which we indeed carried out.

When directly questioned about the suggestion that the brothers might have been involved in a sexual relationship, Murphy explained, “If you’ve watched the series, it’s portraying various perspectives and hypotheses from numerous individuals associated with the case. Dominick Dunne wrote several articles discussing this theory. We are simply conveying his perspective, similar to how we present Leslie Abramson’s viewpoint. It was our duty to include all of these viewpoints, and we have done so.

The show explores the allegations made by Erik and Lyle against RCA executive Jose Menendez, suggesting he molested them since they were children. While his wife reportedly stood by, Jose is said to have continued this behavior. A pivotal moment in the series comes during an episode featuring Lyle’s performance, “The Hurt Man.” At this point, Graynor’s character, Abramson, empathetically tells Lyle (Chavez) that he was sexually assaulted by his father hundreds of times throughout his life, following Lyle’s detailed account of the years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse he endured. The series also focuses on Erik’s (Koch) admissions regarding the sexual abuse he experienced at the hands of his father. According to the show, once José stopped abusing Erik, he reportedly turned his attention to Lyle.

The legal teams of Lyle and Erik Menendez argued self-defense in court following the brothers’ fatal shooting of their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion on August 20, 1989. However, this claim that the murder was self-defense by two sons allegedly threatened by their lives was dismissed by half of two hung juries in separate trials. During a second joint retrial, where they were found guilty, this defense was not allowed to be mentioned. After being convicted for premeditated murder and conspiring to commit murder, both brothers received consecutive life sentences without any chance of parole.

For over a decade, appeals in California’s courts were denied, but it wasn’t until after Murphy’s show and before the Menendez brothers’ case gained traction on TikTok that a petition for habeas corpus was submitted in 2023. The aim was to overturn their sentences and free them from Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, where they had been kept in separate cells since 2018. Rand, who has recently discovered new evidence related to the case, is equally determined to work towards their release.

I, as an eager fan, am thrilled to share that after three decades of silence, the Menendez brothers will finally be sharing their untold stories in their own voices, exclusively through audio interviews from prison. This intriguing revelation is part of the highly anticipated Netflix documentary titled “The Menendez Brothers“, set to premiere on October 7th.

As a devoted viewer, I’ve yet to hear Netflix’s response regarding the recent remarks by Menendez concerning their series; _THR_ followed up with them yesterday.

Kevin Dolak contributed to this story.

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2024-09-26 18:25