Unpacking the Twists in the Menendez Brothers Murder Case

Ryan Murphy Says Menendez Brothers “Should Be Sending Me Flowers” After ‘Monsters’ Publicity

What Erik Menendez and Lyle Menendez did on the night of Aug. 20, 1989, was never the real question.

It’s why that has made the brothers a subject of rapt fascination since long before they were convicted of murdering their parents in 1996. The motive they offered in their defense vs. the one prosecutors supplied has provided fodder for an endless stream of content, the latest being the Ryan Murphy-produced Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix.

And, in the vein of the controversial first season of the true crime anthology which covered Jeffrey Dahmer, it has come in for some backlash. Though, unlike the previous season that was criticized by people who knew Dahmer’s victims, this go-round was kicked off by Erik himself.

“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 wrote in a message posted to his wife Tammi Menendez’s X account on Sept. 19, when the show premiered. “I can only believe they were done so on purpose.”

He called it a “horrible narrative” shaped by “vile and appalling character portrayals” of himself and Lyle, as well as “disheartening slander.”

Murphy initially found Erik’s take “curious” since, as far as he knew, the prison inmate hadn’t seen the show.

“I think the show is very interesting,” Murphy