Erik Menendez Blasts Ryan Murphy’s Netflix Series ‘Monsters’ For Being “Inaccurate”

Erik Menendez, one of the real-life brothers depicted in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, has recently spoken out.

In an online statement posted on his wife Tammi Menendez’s X account, Menendez, who was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder along with his brother Lyle for killing their parents, expressed his dissatisfaction with the way they were portrayed in the drama series, stating that it perpetuated “ruinous character portrayals” of them both.

The statement also accused Murphy of having ill intent based on the narrative presented in the series.

“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,” wrote Menendez in his statement.

Currently serving a life sentence with his brother Lyle at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California, Menendez called out the series for resurrecting “dishonest” narratives about their lives, criticizing the misrepresentation of male trauma and sexual abuse.

Expressing disappointment with what he perceives as a regression in understanding childhood trauma, Menendez condemned the series for perpetuating damaging lies and slander, while thanking those who have supported him and advocating for the truth to prevail.

In the graphic miniseries depicting the 1996 murders, Javier Bardem plays the father, Jose Menendez, and Chloë Sevigny portrays their mother, Kitty Menendez. Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch portray their sons and killers, Lyle and Erik Menendez.

Decider’s Joel Keller praises Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story for taking a familiar story and making it compelling through narrative shifts and excellent performances. Read the full review here.

Below is the full statement from Menendez:

“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. 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.

“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. Those awful lies have been disputed and exposed by countless brave victims over the last two decades who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out. So now Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander.

“Is the truth not enough? Let the truth stand as the truth. How demoralizing to know that one man with power can undermine decades of progress in shedding light on childhood trauma. Violence is never an answer, never a solution, and is always tragic. As such, I hope it is never forgotten that violence against a child creates a hundred horrendous and silent crime scenes darkly shadowed behind glitter and glamor and rarely exposed until tragedy penetrates everyone involved. To all those who have reached out and supported me, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Erik Menendez

All nine episodes of MONSTERS: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story are currently available to stream on Netflix.