The family of Erik and Lyle Menendez has released a statement slamming Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. The overwhelmingly supportive statement, which claims to be from virtually the entire extended family of the Menendez Brothers, states that the Menendez’s have been “victimized” by the series and throw doubt into Murphy’s claim that he spent years researching the case.
“Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is a phobic, gross, anachronistic, serial episodic nightmare that is not only riddled with mistruths and outright falsehoods but ignores the most recent exculpatory revelations. Our family has been victimized by this grotesque shockadrama,” the statement shared Thursday read.
The statement also directly takes aim at Murphy, suggesting the narrative presented in the show is more about him than about the subjects. “Perhaps, after all, Monsters is all about Ryan Murphy.”
Most of the criticism about the Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has been directed at scenes depicting the brothers in an incestuous relationship, a theory both Erik and Lyle Menendez have vehemently denied. Murphy defended the show, claiming that he is “presenting the points of view and theories of many people.”
One of those people is Vanity Fair writer Dominick Dunne, who famously covered the trails. The Menendez family called Dunne’s reporting out in the statement too. “Murphy claims he spent years researching the case but in the end relied on debunked Dominick Dunne, the pro-prosecution hack, the justify his slander against us and never spoke to us,” they said.
“The character assassination of Erik and Lyle, who are our nephews and cousins, under the guise of a ‘story telling narrative’ is repulsive,” they continued. “It is sad that Ryan Murphy, Netflix and all others involved in this series do not have an understanding of the impact of years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Perhaps, after all, Monsters is all about Ryan Murphy,” the statement added.