MonstersControversy Explained: Here’s Why Lyle and Erik Menendez Have Called the Ryan Murphy Series 'A Blatant Lie'

Mar. 15, 2025

Brad Culver as Gerald Chaleff, Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez, Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez in episode 207 of ‘Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story’.Photo:Miles Crist/Netflix

Miles Crist/Netflix

LyleandErik Menendezare at the center of controversy once again, 30 years after they were tried for themurder of their parents.

The brothers, who were 21 and 18 at the time, killed theirmom Kitty and dad José Menendezon Aug. 20, 1989. The two were tried separately in 1993 then again jointly in 1995, until they were convicted in 1996 for the murder of their parents and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.

Now,Ryan Murphyis bringing their story back to the public eye with Netflix’sMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which delves into the alleged sexual abuse they experienced at the hands of their parents, and why they killed them.

While Murphy has said that the show"responsibly" covers male sexual abuse, the brothers disagreed, with Erik sharing in a statement shared on his wife,Tammi Menendez’s,X (formerly Twitter)that he didn’t feel his and Lyle’s story was properly represented.

“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted inhorrible and blatant liesrampant in the show,” Erik 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.”

Representatives for Murphy and Netflix did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

From what Erik has said about the inaccuracies of the series to how Murphy and the cast have responded, here’s everything to know about the controversy surroundingMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

Why is there controversy surrounding the show?

Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez, Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez in episode 203 of ‘Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story’.Miles Crist/Netflix

After confessing to killing their parents, Erik and Lyle argued in their trial that they did so because of years of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of their father, and eventual physical abuse from their mother. In addition to portraying abuse, however, the show also implied the two had an incestuous relationship.

In the series, Erik and Lyle share a kiss in episode 2 and their mother finds them showering together in episode 6. However, in real life, they testified that they never had a sexual relationship with one another.

One fan wrote onX, “taking a story about two brothers who suffered from sexual abuse from their dad and turning it into an incestuous fantasy is horrid,” while anotherwrotethat “creating incest fanfiction of real life brothers is INSANE.”

“Some of the controversy seems to be people thinking for example, that the brothers are having an incestuous relationship,” Murphy toldE! Newsa few days after the show’s release, addressing the controversy. “There are people who say that never happened. There were people who said it did happen.”

Is the incest storyline true?

Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez, Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez in episode 202 of Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story.Netflix

Netflix

In the seventh episode, journalist Dominick Dunne (Nathan Lane), who covered the trial in real life, suggested that the brothers were “hiding an even darker secret” that had “nothing to do with José.” However, in real life, Dunne never insinuated incest.

Robert Rand, an expert on the case who wrote 2018’sThe Menendez Murdersbook, spoke toThe Hollywood Reportershortly after the show’s premiere, sharing that he didn’t believe Erik and Lylehad an incestuous relationship.

“I don’t believe that Erik and Lyle Menendez were ever lovers,” he said. “I think that’s a fantasy that was in the mind of Dominick Dunne.”

“Rumors were going around the trial that maybe there was some sort of weird relationship between Erik and Lyle themselves, but I believe the only physical contact they might have had is what Lyle testified, that when Lyle was 8 years old, he took Erik out in the woods and played with him with a toothbrush — which is what [their father] José had done with him,” he continued.

He added, “I certainly wouldn’t call that a sexual relationship of any sort. It’s a response to trauma.”

What have the Menendez brothers said aboutMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story?

A preliminary hearing held in Beverly Hills, Calif., for Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez, was postponed Friday as their lawyers fought to keep potentially incriminating evidence out of the case, April 12, 1991. Lyle, 23, and Eric, 20, are charged in the August 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.Kevork Djansezian/AP

Kevork Djansezian/AP

While Lyle has yet to comment on the series, Erik shared a statement via his wife’s X, calling the show “blatant lies.”

“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward — back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women,” he said.

Erik also slammed Murphy for shaping “his horrible narrative” of himself and Lyle using “disheartening slander.”

“Is the truth not enough? Let the truth stand as the truth,” he added. “How demoralizing is it to know that one man with power can undermine decades of progress in shedding light on childhood trauma.”

How has Ryan Murphy responded to the criticism?

Ryan Murphy attends the Time 100 Gala 2019 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2019 in New York City ; Erik Menendez and his brother Lyle, in front of their Beverly Hills home.Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images;Los Angeles Times/ Getty Images

Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images;Los Angeles Times/ Getty Images

“I think that’s interesting because I know he hasn’t watched the show. So I find that curious,” Murphy said. “I hope he does watch it. I think if he did watch it he would be incredibly proud ofCooper Kochwho plays him.”

As for how the show represents their story, Murphy said the show gives “many, many, many” perspectives and that at the end of the day, the truth of the show — that two people were shot and killed — comes through.

“Our view and what we wanted to do was present you all the facts and have you do two things: make up your own mind about who’s innocent, who’s guilty, and who’s the monster, and also have a conversation about something that’s never talked about in our culture, which is male sexual abuse, which we do responsibly,” he said.

As for critiques that the show didn’t properly address the alleged sexual abuse element of the Menendez brothers' story, Murphy said he feltMonstersdid do so adequately.

“60 to 65% [of the show] centers around Eric and Lyle Menendez talking about their abuse, talking about their victimization, talking about what it emotionally put them through, those two boys in our show get their moment in court," he said. “In fact, we have a 30-minute episode that Cooper Koch does so brilliantly. Just Erik’s words about what happened to him and why he did what he did.”

What has the cast said about the drama?

Javier Bardem, Cooper Koch, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Ryan Murphy, and Chloe Sevigny arrive at the Los Angeles Premiere of Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” at The Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood, on September 16, 2024.Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who plays Lyle, told PEOPLE that he had not spoken to Lyle throughout the filming process or after the show came out, but added that he sympathizes with the Menendez brothers.

“I really sympathize with the brothers, the fact that this was the most traumatic moment of their life, and then having that put on television for the world to see. I would imagine that would be incredibly heavy,” he said.

He added he realizes the response to the show has been “varied, as they should be.”

“It’s sensitive subject matter and I imagine that everyone is forming their own interpretations of what happened as we imagined and intended that they would,” Chavez told PEOPLE of the reaction.

Koch, who played Erik, has yet to comment on the controversy. However, his brother, Payton Koch, a film editor who has worked onOnly Murders in the Building,shared that he’s “never felt more proud” of his brother in anInstagrampost the day the show came out.

After people commented their concerns about the show on the post — including one person referencing Erik’s response, Payton replied that Koch was sensitive for the issues raised inMonsters.

“I won’t speak for Cooper but I will say thathe cares immensely for the boysand stands with them and all victims of abuse,” Payton wrote in a comment on Sept. 20.

“He did everything he could to ensure their stories of abuse were seen on screen and I think in episode 5, it is abundantly clear where he stands,” he continued. “Any true story portrayal is going to be tough, but please trust me when I say he does care about them and their story ❤️‍🩹.”

The weekend after the show released, a source told PEOPLE that Koch, alongsideKim Kardashian, spent time in San Diego at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility where both Menendez brothers are incarcerated.

source: people.com