Erik Menendez Isn't Very Happy With Ryan Murphy's Latest True Crime Anthology Series Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez.
The Netflix series chronicles the case of real-life brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were convicted in 1996 of the murder of their parents, José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez.
Erik shared in a statement his wife Tammi Menendez posted on social media, “I thought we had gone beyond the lies and the destructive portrayals of Lyle's character, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in the horrible and blatant likes that are rampant on the show. I can only believe this was done on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy could not be so naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives to do this without ill intent.”
“It is saddening to me that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime has pushed painful truths back several steps, back in time, to a time when prosecutors built a narrative around a belief system that men were not sexually abused and that men experienced the trauma of rape differently than women,” the statement continued. “Those horrific lies have been disrupted and exposed by countless brave victims over the past two decades who overcame their personal shame and courageously spoke out. So now Murphy shapes his horrific narrative through vile and appalling portrayals of Lyle and me and disheartening slanders.”
“Isn’t the truth enough?” Erik added.
Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch star as Lyle and Erik Menendez in the series, alongside Javier Bardem as José, Chloë Sevigny as Kitty, Nathan Lane as Dominick Dunne, and Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson.Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez dives into the historic case that took the world by storm, pioneered today’s public fascination with true crime, and, in return, asks those audiences, “Who are the real monsters?” reads the series synopsis.
Erik concluded his statement, “Let the truth be the truth. How disheartening it is to know that one man in power can undermine decades of progress in shedding light on childhood trauma. Violence is never an answer, never a solution, and it is always tragic. So, I hope it is never forgotten that violence against a child creates a hundred horrible, silent crime scenes, darkly hidden behind glitter and glamour and rarely exposed until the tragedy has penetrated all involved. To all who have reached out and supported me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”