True crime continues to be popular in mainstream media, whether in the form of podcasts or series like Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s “Monsters” anthology, where each season follows the lives of different killers.
Its second installment examines the 1989 murders of José and Kitty Menendez, who were killed by their sons, Erik and Lyle, who were 18 and 21 years old, respectively.
The four-month-long trial in 1993 riveted the public and received extensive media coverage. The prosecution argued the brothers killed their parents to inherit their wealth. However, the brothers and their defense team argued they killed their parents out of fear after suffering years of abuse at the hands of their father.
Despite the overwhelming evidence confirming the abuse, the brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The case has been popular for decades and is one of the most notable criminal cases in history, but it recently saw a resurgence in popularity after “Monsters” was released on Netflix on Sept. 19, 2024.
According to IMDb, “Monsters” was the No. 1 title on Netflix for the week of Sept. 23 to 29, amassing 19.5 million views in its first week of streaming. It was hailed for its performances, specifically by Cooper Koch as Erik and Nicholas Chavez as Lyle.
Despite its commercial success, the series is receiving backlash due to its inaccuracies and its problematic portrayal of the brothers’ abuse and their sexuality.
Throughout the series, the brothers are often depicted very intimately. The series shows the brothers kissing on the mouth, dancing seductively and even showering together.
The series’ cover photo depicts the brothers seemingly naked with Koch's hands around Chavez’s bare chest. The cover is inherently sexual, and the brothers, in particular Erik, are portrayed as being gay throughout the series, despite no evidence of this in real life.
In the fifth episode “The Hurt Man,” Erik talked about his sexuality in a conversation with attorney Leslie Abramson (Ari Graynor). He even said that he was in love with a boy, which never happened in real life. In fact, both Erik and Lyle have wives and publicly claimed they were not gay during the trial and in interviews.
Murphy was blasted on social media for his portrayal of the brothers’ sexuality and how he handled their abuse in general. Before the show even premiered, fans were frustrated that Lyle and Erik were being labeled as “monsters” in the first place considering the nature of the alleged abuse.
Murphy defended this choice, explaining that the point was for the audience to determine who the actual “monsters” were: José and Kitty or Lyle and Erik. However, many social media users argued there is more than enough proof of the abuse and the series made light of their trauma.
In a statement posted to X by his wife, Tammi Menendez, Erik denounced Murphy and the series.
“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,” he said. “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 naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
Murphy responded to Erik’s statement in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, but his response only continued to enrage fans.
“The Menendez brothers should be sending me flowers,” Murphy said. “They haven’t had so much attention in 30 years.”
Adapting any story regarding sexual assault is tricky, especially since the alleged victims had no say in its creation to begin with. Many fans said his response was dismissive of their trauma.
Because of the unprecedented discourse the show generated, Netflix released a documentary on Sunday, Oct. 7, where Lyle and Erik share their perspectives and tell their story in their own words.
Not only were Lyle and Erik given a voice through this documentary, but the brothers were recently granted a court hearing on Nov. 29, 2024, because of new evidence.
Despite the missteps in Murphy’s “Monsters,” people have educated themselves, either through the new Netflix documentary or through the actual trial recordings, which helped bring the case back into the courtroom 35 years later and give the brothers a new chance at freedom.
