Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Ryan Murphydoesn’t seem to have learned his lesson fromDahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.The first season of the creator’sMonsteranthology seriesfaced significant backlash for the way it sensationalized the murderscommitted byreal-life serial killerJeffrey Dahmerand profited off the trauma of Dahmer’s victims and their surviving family members. Now, following the release ofMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Murphy is once again facing heavy criticism, bothfrom viewers and subjects alike, for the reportedly insensitive and exploitative way he handled the Menendez case.Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Storycenters around one of the United States' most infamous true crime cases, andfollows the lives of the Menendez brothersfrom the 1989 murder of their parents to the subsequent trials that captivated the nation.
The Problem with ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’
Monstershas been criticizedlargely for its portrayal of the relationship between the Menendez brothers— specifically the heavy-handed implication that Lyle and Erik engaged in an incestuous relationship with each other. The latter half of the series focuses on former Vanity Fair writerDominick Dunne’s point of view, who heavily favored the prosecution andallegedly suggested the Menendez brothers were engaging in incestin his coverage of the trial.
Both Erik Menendez and24 members of the extended familyhave recently come out to denounce Ryan Murphy’sMonsters.In a statement released on X (formerly Twitter), Erik Menendez criticized the series, in particular its portrayal of his brother Lyle. “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,” Erik said in his statement, adding that “Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of [their] lives so as to do so without bad intent.”
Murphy in turn responded to Erik’s statement, telling E! News, “What we wanted to do with the show was present you all the facts and perspectives,” and stating that he hoped viewers would make up their own minds about who was innocent and who was guilty after finishing the series. The Menendez brothers were found guilty of their parents' murders in 1996 and were given life sentences without parole, which they continue to serve.When speaking to Variety,Murphy confirmed that he did not reach out to the Menendez brothersduring the development and release ofMonsters, stating, “I have no interest in talking to them.”
How ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’ Has Impacted the Real Case
This controversial new series might have its issues, but there’s also an upside to these dramatized true crime stories.
Ryan Murphy Owes More to the Subjects of His Series
Far from slowing down, Murphy has cast his nextMonsterin preparation for the anthology’s third installment. If the vocal criticism has not deterred him from continuing the series, then what responsibility does Murphy have towards the subjects of any future season? ThoughMonster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Storywas subject to intense criticism,the series won and was nominated for a host of awards, including a People’s Choice Award for Bingeworthy Show of 2022, as well as four Golden Globe and six Primetime Emmy nominations (withEvan PetersandNiecy Nash-Bettstaking home a Golden Globe and Emmy, respectively, for their performances).
If there are rewards — and quite literally, awards — given as incentive for dramatizing and sensationalizing the lives of real victims, where is the line drawn? If Murphy has appointed himself the arbiter of the controversial stories he chooses to tell,he has an obligation to both the real-life subjects and the victims of those stories. Despite Murphy’sclaim that the Monster team reached out to the families of Dahmer’s victimsand received no response, his statement was refuted by Rita Isbell, sister to Erroll Lindsey, who was killed by Dahmer in 1991. “I was never contacted about the show,“Isbell wrote in a personal essay for Insider. “They didn’t ask me anything. They just did it.”
A pattern is beginning to emerge, wherein Murphy co-opts a real-life tragedy and disregards the impact on said tragedy’s victims, thenjustifies this behavior under the guise of artistic interpretation. Murphy cannot tell Variety thatMonsterswas “the best thing that has happened to the Menendez brothers in 30 years” and refuse to speak to them, then release a series that presents a theorized incestuous relationship between two alleged victims of sexual assault as fact. Continuing down such a path, unearthing and reinterpreting other people’s narratives, and then claiming it was done with the best intentions, is irresponsible at best.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Storyis available to stream on Netflix.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
WATCH ON NETFLIX
