After release From Netflix Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik MenendezErik Menendez released a statement condemning the show, calling it “an untruthful portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crimes.”
In 1996, Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted of murdering their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The brothers maintain to this day that their motives were motivated by the physical, emotional and sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of their parents throughout their lives.
In his statement, shared by his wife Tammy Menendez on social media on Thursday, Eric wrote: “I thought we had gone beyond the lies and the damaging portrayal of Lyle’s character, and created a caricature of Lyle rooted in the blatant and terrible lies spread throughout the show. I can only believe they did this on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say that Ryan Murphy could not be so naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives that he would do this without ill intent.”
Murphy has previously received backlash for his depiction of violence and trauma surrounding true crime content. Although 2022 Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer StoryWhile the series sought to give serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer a dramatic origin story, family members of Dahmer's victims alleged that the series exploited their trauma without telling them.
“It is heartbreaking to me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crimes has taken painful truths several steps back in time — back in time to an era when prosecutors built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually assaulted, and that males experienced the trauma of rape differently than women,” the statement continued. “These horrific lies have been disrupted and exposed by countless brave victims over the past two decades who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out.” Eric Murphy also accused Murphy of shaping “his own horrific narrative by portraying a vile and horrific characterization of Lil and Lee and the depressing slander.”
“Isn't the truth enough?” he added.
During the highly publicized trial in the 1990s, defense attorney Leslie Abramson alleged that Lyle and Eric had been sexually molested by their father since they were young children, and that their fear led to the 1989 murders. In the years that followed, former Menudo band member Roy Rossello alleged that their father, Jose Menendez, then an executive at RCA Records that had signed Menudo to a multimillion-dollar contract, had also raped him.
“Let’s let the truth be the truth. How disheartening it is to know that one man with power can undermine decades of progress in shedding light on childhood trauma,” Eric concluded his statement. “Violence is never the answer, never the solution, and always tragic. And so, I hope we never forget that violence against a child creates a hundred horrific, silent, dark crime scenes behind the glitz and glamour that are rarely revealed until the tragedy pierces through everyone involved. To all those who have reached out and supported me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
