Erik Menendez slams Ryan Murphy show for ‘caricature’ of his brother
‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’ has drawn ire from one of its subjects.
Erik Menéndez isn’t happy with a new Netflix show about him and his brother, and one of the series’ stars is weighing in.
Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who plays Lyle Menéndez in the Ryan Murphy Netflix series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” on Monday spoke with USA TODAY after Erik Menéndez penned a statement slamming the show. At the premiere of Murphy’s latest series “Grotesquerie,” the actor, 25, reacted by expressing sympathy.
“I can only respond with sympathy and empathy in that I can only imagine how difficult it is to have the most traumatic moment of your life put up there on the screen for everyone to see,” he told USA TODAY.
In 1996, Lyle and Erik Menéndez were convicted of killing their parents and sentenced to life in prison. The brothers claimed their father, José Menéndez, had physically, sexually and emotionally abused them for years prior to the murders.
Netflix’s “Monsters” dramatizes their story across nine episodes and stars Cooper Koch as Erik Menéndez, and Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny as Lyle and Erik’s parents, José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menéndez. The series is a follow-up to “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” starring Evan Peters.
Erik Menendez slams Ryan Murphy, Netflix for ‘dishonest portrayal’ of his parent’s murders
Chavez also told USA TODAY his research for “Monsters” was “extensive” and involved reviewing documentaries and books about the Menéndez brothers, as well as watching court TV footage from the time.
“With the court TV footage, you’re getting a glimpse into what was happening in that time, but the show aims to fill out a lot more details than just the courtroom scenes,” he said. “So that makes it interesting.”
Shortly after the debut of “Monsters,” Erik Menéndez slammed the show for its “horrible and blatant lies” in a statement issued by his wife.
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“I can only believe they were done so on purpose,” he said. “It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
Some viewers have taken issue with the series appearing to float the idea that the Menéndez brothers may have been in an incestuous relationship. The two brothers kiss on the lips in one scene, while another moment shows their mother walking in on them showering together. The latter scene is framed as a theory on the case that journalist Dominick Dunne (Nathan Lane) is presenting rather than objective reality.
In his statement, Menéndez criticized Murphy for his “vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander,” asking, “Is the truth not enough?”
Contributing: Jay Stahl