Real Erik Menendez Slams Netflix for ‘Terrible and Outrageous Lies’ in ‘Monsters’

Following the release of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the real Erik Menendez issued a statement from prison admonishing Netflix and Ryan Murphy for their “dishonest” portrayal of events.

This crime series, whose second season is The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, examines the shocking true case of the Menendez brothers, who cold-bloodedly murdered their parents on August 20, 1989.

The Netflix series explores the most controversial elements of the case, including the alleged sexual abuse of the brothers by their father, José Menendez, and interviews with the brothers’ psychologist, Jerome Oziel, that were used as evidence.

As is typical with Murphy’s true crime projects, the story is told in an over-the-top and lavish style, which has even led to criticism of the show’s incestuous subplot. Now, the real Erik Menendez has come forward to accuse Murphy of “bad intentions.”

Statement by Erik Menendez

Erik’s statement was posted on his current wife Tammi’s X account on September 20, 2024.

In it, he wrote: “I thought we had moved beyond the lies and pernicious portrayals of Lyle’s character to a caricature of Lyle rooted in the horrible and outright lies that pervade the show. I can only believe they did that on purpose.”

“It is with a heavy heart that I must say that I do not believe that Ryan Murphy could be so naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives that he could do this without any malicious intent.”

He went on to acknowledge Netflix’s role in the case, saying: “I am saddened to say that Netflix’s unfair portrayal of the tragedy of our crime has pushed back the painful truths several steps – to a time when the prosecution built a narrative on the belief system that men were not sexually assaulted and that they experienced the trauma of rape differently than women.

“These terrible lies have been challenged and exposed by countless brave victims over the past two decades who have overcome their personal shame and courageously spoken out.

Netflix

Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez played Erik and Lyle Menendez in the Netflix series.

“So now Murphy shapes his awful narrative with disgusting and repulsive portraits of Lyle and me and discouraging slander.”

He continued: “Isn’t the truth enough? Let the truth be the truth. How demoralizing it is to know that one man in power can undermine decades of progress in shining a light on childhood trauma. Violence is never the answer, never the solution, and is always tragic.

“In this regard, I hope it will never be forgotten that child abuse creates hundreds of horrible and silent crime scenes, dark shadows behind the glitter and glamour and rarely revealed until the tragedy has penetrated all involved. To all those who reached out to me and supported me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Erik Menendez is currently serving a life sentence with his brother Lyle at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. Both were found guilty in December 1992.

For more on the show and the real case, check out our Monsters finale explainer . You can also find out how much Jose Menendez was worth and the truth about Monsters’ chutzpah.