Ryan Murphy’s controversial Netflix drama about the Menendez brothers has been criticised by the family as a “grotesque shockadrama”.
A statement released by 24 members of the Menendez family has attacked Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which is currently the number one TV programme on the platform, and expressed disappointment that no one was contacted by Murphy and co-creator Ian Brennan.
Posted on social media, the statement calls the show “a phobic, gross, anachronistic, serial episode nightmare that is not only riddled with mistruths and outright falsehoods but ignores the most recent exculpatory revelations”.
Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents, a crime they blamed on the severe physical and sexual abuse they had suffered at the hands of their father. They remain in prison to this day.
The series, which is part of the Monster anthology strand that started with a hit Jeffrey Dahmer drama in 2022, has been called a “character assassination” by the family.
The statement was shared by Tammi Menendez, wife to Erik, who also posted his response last week. He called it a “dishonest portrayal” and criticised the “horrible and blatant lies” in the series.
Murphy responded to this statement earlier this week. “I think it’s interesting that he’s issued a statement without having seen the show,” he said. “It’s really, really hard, if it’s your life, to see your life up onscreen.”
The series explores the sexual abuse in the Menendez household while also hinting at an incestuous relationship between the brothers which has come under fire since it premiered on 19 September. Robert Rand, a reporter who covered the trial and wrote the 2018 book The Menendez Murders, has called this assertion “a fantasy”.
Murphy defended the inclusion, claiming that the series is “presenting the points of view and theories from so many people who were involved in the case”. The makers were heavily involved with Dominick Dunne, a reporter at the time, in the making of the show.
The new Menendez statement has slammed Dunne as “debunked” and accused him of “slander”.
This week has also seen Netflix announce a new documentary called The Menendez Brothers that will use “extensive audio interviews” with those involved with the trial, including Lyle and Erik. It will be released on 7 October.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which stars Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny, racked up over 12m views in its opening weekend, enough to put it at the top of the charts but beneath the numbers of Dahmer.
Critics have been mostly negative in their response with the Guardian’s Jesse Hassenger calling it “exhausting” and “repetitive” while Variety’s Aramide Tinubu criticised it for having “no idea what it wants to be”.
The next season was recently confirmed and will follow the notorious killer Ed Gein, to be played by Charlie Hunnam. Gein was seen as inspiration for Norman Bates, Leatherface and Buffalo Bill.
