Since its release last week, Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has secured the top position on Netflix’s most-watched TV shows list. However, it has sparked considerable controversy, especially concerning a specific implication about the brothers’ relationship.
The miniseries explores the lives of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents, José and Mary Louis ‘Kitty’ Menendez.
During their trial, which drew nationwide attention in the early ’90s, Erik and Lyle claimed they had endured physical, emotional, and sexual abuse from their parents. Prosecutors, on the other hand, argued that the brothers killed their parents in 1989 for financial gain.
Ultimately, after two criminal trials, the Menendez brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996.
In Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Murphy dramatizes the events surrounding the Menendez brothers’ trial, aiming to present a broader picture of the various perspectives and theories related to the case.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the director commented, “What the show is doing is presenting the points of view and theories from so many people who were involved in the case […] The show presents over 10 points of view of different events.”
One viewpoint Murphy felt compelled to include was that of Vanity Fair journalist Dominick Dunne, who famously covered the trials in the ’90s. Dunne theorized that the brothers had an intimate relationship.
“Dominick Dunne wrote several articles talking about that theory,” Murphy stated. “We are presenting his point of view. And we had an obligation to show all of that and we did.”
The series includes several scenes suggesting an incestuous-leaning relationship between the brothers, such as a scene where their mother finds them showering together, which has drawn significant backlash from viewers.
The cast has addressed the show’s choice to imply that Lyle and Erik had an intimate relationship. Nicholas Chavez, who portrays Lyle Menendez, told Variety, “It was something that we discussed quite a bit as part of this project, but ultimately this is a question that’s honestly best reserved for Ryan and the creators of the show.”
Cooper Koch, who plays Erik Menendez, shared, “I knew that this was a very controversial story, and that people were going to be upset and affected by what they were seeing.”
“I think though you do have to put it into context of the situation, and that we’re sort of painting a picture based on what somebody else’s perspective was,” Koch added. “It’s not necessarily the truth of what happened. That’s just what Dominick Dunne thinks and there I think are other places in the story where it’s sort of planted to give people all of these different perspectives and you know.”
“I think the goal of the show is to put all those perspectives together and let the audience be the jury,” Koch continued. “And at the end of the show, you just make your decision on what you believe. And I think it’s a really interesting way of telling the story and just storytelling in general.”
Koch then reiterated that he ‘absolutely does not’ believe the brothers had an incestuous relationship, stating, “I do not think that’s true. And I don’t think it was intended by the show to make or break that truth.”
“I think that was just a theory that one person had and that got put into the show because that person was a character in the show,” he added. “I stand with Erik and everything that he says in his testimony I believe to be his truth, and I believe him.”