Erik Menéndez talks about the new series based on his life.
On Friday, September 20, Erik — one of the subjects of Netflix Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menéndez — posted a statement on his brother Lyle Menéndez’s Facebook page criticizing Ryan Murphy’s latest show.
Erik, 53, destroyed portraits of himself and Lyle, 56, who claim their parents abused them and killed them in self-defense. He referred to the trauma and violence they experienced in their childhood and claimed that the series did not portray it accurately.
“I believed we had moved beyond the false and pernicious portrayal of Lyle’s character, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in the horrific and outright lies spread throughout the show,” Erik began. “I can only believe that they did it on purpose. With a heavy heart I say, I believe that Ryan Murphy cannot be so naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives that he does so without malicious intent.”
He continued: “It saddens me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime has set the painful truths back a few steps — back in time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on the belief system that men were not sexually assaulted and that men were traumatized rape differently than women.”
Lyle Menendez, second from left, and his brother, Erik, second from right in 1990.
AP Photo/Nick Tue
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Erik went on to claim that Murphy, 58, “forms his horrific narrative through disgusting and appalling portrayals of Lyle and me and disheartening slander.”
“Isn’t the truth enough? Let the truth stand as the truth,” he added. “How demoralizing to know that one man with power can undermine decades of progress in elucidating childhood trauma.”
Erik concluded his statement by thanking those who “lent him a hand and supported him.”
Representatives for Murphy and Netflix did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menéndez follows Erik and Lyle and the murder of their parents José and Mary Lousa “Kitty” Menéndez in August 1989, along with the trial that followed in the early ’90s.
After they killed his parents in their family home, Lyle called 911, sobbing and claiming they had gone to see a movie and came home to find his parents dead. The brothers were arrested for the murders only a few months later.
Erik and Lyle were eventually found guilty of two counts of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. They were sentenced to life in prison without parole and are currently serving their sentences at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Institution in San Diego.
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Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez and Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez.
Miles Crist/Netflix
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Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch star as Lyle and Erik, respectively, in the limited series. The cast is rounded out by Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny as their parents.
Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez is now available to stream on Netflix.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education