Lyle and Erik Menéndez may not be thrilled with the series Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menéndez, which is based on their lives, but series co-creator Ryan Murphy believes the two closeted brothers should see things differently.
Murphy said The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, Oct. 1 that he and co-creator Ian Brennan “set out to do exactly what we wanted to do.”
“The Menéndez brothers should be sending me flowers,” said Murphy, 58. “They haven’t had this much attention in 30 years. And he attracted the attention of not only this country, but also the whole world. There is an outpouring of interest in their lives and in the case.”
“I know for a fact that many people have offered to help them because of the interest in my show and what we’ve done,” he continued. “There is no world we live in where the Menéndez brothers or their wives or lawyers say, ‘You know what, that was a wonderful, accurate representation of our clients.’ That was never going to happen and I had no interest in it happening.”
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Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch in “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”
Miles Crist/Netflix
Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menéndez — which premiered in September — revisits the lives of Lyle and Erik Menéndez and the 1989 murders of their mom, Kitty, and dad, José Menéndez. The two were tried separately in 1993, then together again in 1995, until they were convicted of murdering their parents in 1996 and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
While Murphy said the show “responsibly” covers male sexual abuse, the brothers disagreed, with Erik, 53, explaining in a statement tweeted by his wife Tammi Menéndez on Thursday, September 19, that he doesn’t feel his and Lyle’s the story was properly presented.
“I believed that we had moved beyond the false and pernicious portrayal of Lyle’s character, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in the horrific and blatant lies that are prevalent in the show,” Erik said. “I can only believe that they did it on purpose. I say with a heavy heart, I believe that Ryan Murphy cannot be so naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives that he does this without malicious intent.”
For his part, Murphy explained The Hollywood Reporter that he and Brennan felt they had an “obligation” to tell the stories of other people in Erik and Lyle’s orbit, including their parents.
Check out the cast Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez Side by side with real people acting
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Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch in “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”
Miles Crist/Netflix
“What the Menéndez brothers and their people ignore is that we were telling a story that was a very broad canvas. We told the story of Dominick Dunne [played by Nathan Lane]Leslie Abramson [played by Ari Graynor]”, he continued. “We also told the story of the parents [José and Kitty Menéndez, played by Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny]whose head was blown off; we also told their story. We had an obligation to so many people, not just Erik and Lyle. But that’s what I find so fascinating; that right now they are playing the victim card — ‘poor me, poor me’ — which I find reprehensible and disgusting.”
He also acknowledged that the brothers’ journey is complex, praising Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch for their portrayals of Lyle and Erik.
“Two things can be true at the same time,” Murphy explained. “I think they could have killed their parents, and they were also abused. They could be of ambiguous moral character as young people, and now be rehabilitated. So I think that story is complicated. I’m delighted with the reaction to it. I’m really blown away by how people are responding to the performances, especially Cooper and Nicholas, who really killed themselves to do these guys justice.”
He added: “I think Cooper and Nicholas are much more empathetic to the Menéndez brothers than I am, but oh well. There’s room for all points of view.”
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Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menéndez is now available to stream on Netflix.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education