On Sept. 19, season two of Ryan Murphy’s true crime series, “Monsters” hit Netflix leaving viewers hooked. “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” quickly gained popularity with the help of thousands of TikTok edits surrounding the handsome actors, Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez picked to play the killer duo.
While the brothers’ background hooked viewers everywhere, others realized the dramatized reality behind the true crime drama. Murphy has spoken out about how he has not met with the brothers and has no interest in ever doing so. So, where did he do his research before filming?
Due to Murphy’s narrow research, the show comes with many inaccuracies, including the brothers having an incestuous relationship and the overall portrayal of Lyle Menendez.
After its release, Erik Menendez released a statement through his wife, Tami Menendez’s X on how he feels the show portrays “blatant lies.” The Menendez family was not happy with the show and have come out to share their thoughts on it calling it “a phobic, gross, anachronistic, serial episodic nightmare that is not only riddled with mistruths and outright falsehoods but ignores the most recent exculpatory revelations.”
One of the major misconceptions in the show is the seemingly incestuous relationship between Lyle and Erik. In episode two, “Monsters” shows a scene where the brothers kiss. Later on in the show, a scene where Kitty Menendez, the mother of the Menendez family, walks in on Erik and Lyle in the shower together. The brothers being involved in a romantic relationship has never been proven and has been shut down since the show came out. It was revealed in court that due to the molestation and trauma, Lyle sexually assaulted Erik at a young age so the topic of incest in the show is extremely disheartening considering their past.
While it was proven that the brothers went on an immense shopping spree after the killings, which included buying a $900,000 condominium and three Rolex watches, many speculate if that was the motive for the murder of the two parents. In the show, much of the money being spent is represented. Episode two titled “Spree” goes into detail about the brothers’ worry over their parents’ will and how they were told they were written out of it. They then attempt all they can to get into their father’s safe and spend as much money as they can. This episode begs the question – was it all for the money? This confounding aspect gives viewers a new perspective and creates confusion about the real motive behind the killings. The brothers have only ever claimed the motive behind their killings to be the assault they were living with. Overall, trying to change the narrative around their motive is painful considering male sexual assault is often overlooked.
A topic of conversation has sprung up surrounding Lyle’s character. Nicholas Alexander Chavez plays a brilliant role as Lyle, but others claim it is not exactly accurate. Chavez plays a bratty over the top characterization of Lyle. While it makes sense for a change in behavior after the killings, especially coming from Lyle who was always “meant to be” a clone of his father; this change in behavior is not represented in the show because from episode one, Lyle is always played as loud and extremely over the top, which changes the overall perception Lyle has always been given. Chavez’s brilliant acting ability is never overlooked because of the great execution of the character Murphy wrote Lyle as. Frankly, this bratty fictional representation of Lyle gets old after the first episode.
Whether viewers believe the brothers deserve to be freed or spend the rest of their lives in jail, the extreme Hollywood dramatization of the story is hurtful to the case and what they went through. Changing the details of the case is overall frustrating as a viewer and extremely difficult for the family involved. With the saddening misconceptions created after the show, a new question arises; is the hard truth not enough for the box office?
