‘Monsters’ star responds to Erik Menendez’s criticism of new Netflix show
Any movie or TV series that dramatises true events typically adds some creative flourishes, and the latest from Ryan Murphy, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, has been accused of this trope.
The prolific creator and producer’s back catalogue is enough to indicate that he’s never been one beholden to slavishly recreating the facts, which ensured there were no surprises to be found when Erik Menendez shared a statement damning the Netflix hit for allegedly taking so many liberties with the tale.
Murphy fired back with the entirely fair point – due to his life imprisonment without the possibility of parole – that Menendez hadn’t actually seen the series, although he acknowledged it’s difficult for anyone to see the most difficult period of their life realised within a semi-fictional context.
Those sentiments were echoed by star Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who plays Lyle in Monsters, when he was asked for his thoughts on the sibling of the character he plays on the show offering such a scathing assessment of Murphy’s latest original offering for the streaming service.
“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 of Erik’s criticisms, which are regular ones made towards shows that detail true crime stories that dominated the cultural discourse.
The Menendez brothers were first tried separately, but with both juries deadlocked, the result was a mistrial. The second time around, Lyle and Erik were tried together in front of a single jury, which resulted in the pair being sentenced to life behind bars in 1996.
The brothers have always maintained that they murdered their parents, Jose and Kitty, to protect themselves after their father had allegedly threatened their lives when they planned to expose him for years of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, whereas the prosecution argued they’d done it for nothing but money so they could inherit his lucrative estate.
Chavez also shared that his research into the part was extensive, which saw him watch virtually all of the courtroom footage, in addition to combing through countless books and documentaries, with his performance in Monsters seeking to “fill out a lot more details than just the courtroom scenes” in order to relay the brothers’ mindset before, during, and after the murders.
Erik Menendez may not be best pleased with the way he and his story have been portrayed onscreen, but with Monsters currently the most-watched episodic project on Netflix worldwide, subscribers have no such issues diving into the double murder that shocked a nation.