Menendez Family Doesn’t Pull Punches With Netflix Monsters Takedown

Erik Menendez was the first to turn on the heat on Netflix’s portrayal of him and his brother, Lyle Menendez, when the incarcerated man wrote a scathing letter to Ryan Murphy. Shortly after the show premiered, Menendez’s message began circulating on social media, with his wife, Tammi Menendez, sharing it to her X account. From there, the steam picked up with the brothers’ aunt, Joan VanderMolen, writing a follow-up message on behalf of 24 members of the Menendez family.

VanderMolen’s main message was simple, as she wrote that the family stood behind the siblings and “individually and collectively pray for their release.” She went on to say that Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was a piece of gross negligence on the part of Ryan Murphy and Netflix, adding that the production was a “character assassination” of the two men.

Further digging in, and citing the divisive case that has been pulled back into the public eye thanks to the dramatized series, she wrote, “Several of us were eyewitnesses to many atrocities one should never have to bear witness to,” presumably in reference to the alleged abuse the brothers faced at the hands of their father.

If anything, VanderMolen’s letter on behalf of the Menendez family showcases the disastrous turn that shows like the Netflix title can take when not approached with care and delicacy. Take the last installment of Monster, for example. The series centered around notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, not only showcasing his atrocious crimes but also the effect he had on his community and the victims whose loved ones were so unfairly and brutally ripped from the world.

We know what Jeffrey Dahmer’s drive was in committing these heinous acts as, even though he was a lonely man looking for a partnership, he was obviously a murderous psychopath. In short, it’s a pretty open-and-shut case. On the other hand, the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez is not so cut and dry, which the Netflix series largely made it out to be. 

In her letter, VanderMolen addressed this side of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, writing, “It is sad that Ryan Murphy, Netflix and all others involved in this series do not have an understanding of the impact of years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.”

The siblings were convicted of the 1989 murder of their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion, with the prosecution claiming they did it for their inheritance and the defense leaning into the alleged abuse that the pair faced at the hands of – primarily – their father. While the series eventually picks up the torch on the latter, it’s the former that is hammered in from the show’s very first moments and episodes. 

Right now, the series is being viewed as one of Ryan Murphy’s worst, hitting the abysmal Rotten Tomatoes score of 48 percent. After the hype and critical acclaim that followed Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, the follow-up season focusing on the Menendez brothers is an obvious bust for Netflix.

With another installment on the way, which will see Charlie Hunnam playing serial killer Ed Gein, only time will tell if the anthology series will return triumphantly or go down as one of Murphy’s least-loved projects.

Source: Deadline