If you’ve been on the internet the past few weeks, chances are you have seen something about or related to Lyle and Erik Menendez. With the recent release of the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, conversations about the brothers seem to be at an all-time high, and I have some thoughts about the conversations that I’ve been seeing.
BACKGROUND
If you are unfamiliar with the story here is a brief recap. On August 20th, 1989 in Beverly Hills, California, brothers–Lyle and Erik–walked into their living room and shot their parents–Jose and Kitty–at point blank range with shotguns and later called the police with the story that their father was wrapped up in shady business and it was most likely a mob hit. The police had no leads and the brothers went on with their lives, spending their $14 million inheritance on lavish items like cars, rolexes, and more. Erik later confessed to his therapist who told his mistress who told the police following their breakup. The brothers were arrested and then revealed that they killed their parents out of fear that they would kill them because Jose had been molesting both brothers their entire lives and Kitty knew and continued to let it happen. The brothers were found guilty of murder in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Ryan Murphy and his Dedication to Not Honoring the Truth
I feel like I first have to discuss the release of Monsters. The show released all nine episodes directly to Netflix on Sept. 19th and was written by Ryan Murphy who is known for Glee, American Horror Story, and his many “biopics” based on real stories like the People vs. OJ Simpson, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, and more. The cast included Javier Bardem and Chlöe Sevigny as Jose and Kitty Menendez respectively and newcomers Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch as Lyle and Erik respectively. All four give fantastic performances and will no doubt receive Emmy and Golden Globes nods, even though the story they were given was full of inaccuracies and falsehoods. Claims of incest and anger issues plagued the show and made it a very uneasy watch if you knew the facts of the case.
Ryan Murphy has a serious problem with bending narratives of real people with no regard for the harm he is causing. He caught tons of flack when he released Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, because he refused to contact the living victims and victims families for their input and even characterized Jeffrey Dahmer as someone that the audience should feel bad for. When faced with recent comments about why he felt the need to include incest claims between the brothers, he said it was his “obligation to do so” and even stated he had “no interest” in talking to the brothers, who both released statements expressing their anger and discontent with the show, while both have praised Chavez and Koch for their portrayals.
I think it is absolutely disgusting the way that Murphy approaches making his shows that are based on real people. I completely understand dramatization when it comes to biopics. Most biopics include scenes of things that never really happened, but when you start manipulating things that can affect someone’s reputation or legacy, that is where the line needs to be drawn. I also think that refusing to get permission from estates and living people to use their life stories is a scummy thing to do. Real people’s lives aren’t something that you just get to play around with.
The TikTokification of the Menendez Brothers
This brings me to the absolute TikTokification of the Menendez brothers and their story. Back in 2021, I remember seeing nothing but Menendez brothers content on my feed. It wasn’t just true crime reporting, it was fans my age or younger professing their love for the brothers and demanding their release. There are edits of the brothers and girls with posters of them in their rooms like they were Harry Styles. This is something I just cannot get behind no matter what. These men were abused their entire childhoods and did a terrible thing, even if they were protecting themselves from what they perceived to be a threat to their own lives. This wasn’t a case where someone already famous killed someone and their fans continued to support them, murder literally made the brothers famous. I can understand if someone were to think the brothers were attractive because let’s face it, they aren’t necessarily ugly men, but a problem arises when people start to obsess over them like they’re celebrities.
The thing I hate the most about this is the fact that in edits and clips, they romanticize the way the brothers look during their double murder trial and even use clips of them discussing their absolutely horrific and traumatizing childhood sexual abuse. I truly don’t understand how someone who claims to love and support them, uses their trauma and suffering as a way to romanticize and sexualize them. Their behavior is extremely troubling. I completely understand if someone feels strongly that they should be released, because I honestly hold some similar feelings that I will get to, but supporting their release is where the line needs to be drawn.
Following the release of the show, all of my social media platforms were full of edits and content surrounding Chavez and Koch. The two men are extremely attractive and are rightfully getting recognition as the internet’s current “white boys of the month.” I see no issue in highlighting the actors and editing clips from the show, but edits of the real brothers have got to stop. I have seen girls asking for their addresses to send them love letters in prison–mind you the brothers are currently both married and are 56 and 53 years old respectively, with some girls even requesting to visit them in person. These fans are so incredibly out of touch with reality and their obsessions are in such poor taste. At the end of the day these two men are in prison for murder and have lived a full life of trauma and these fans are just further exploiting that. They were sexualized their entire childhoods and are now being sexualized online and none of the fans doing so seem to see the issue.
I do need to clarify that there are lots of support accounts that are out there that are strictly advocating for not only their release but support for victims of childhood sexual abuse.
Their Potential Release
The brothers might have a chance of freedom come November. In May 2023, their lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition citing new evidence that was found that corroborates their abuse allegations–there was previously no physical evidence to back these claims up however there were dozens of witnesses confirming the brothers story. They are arguing that with the new evidence their charge should be dropped from first-degree murder to manslaughter which would mean that their sentence would be “served time” meaning they’d be released. I personally believe that they absolutely deserved to go to prison for what they did, but they have served their time and pose no threat to society if they are released. The decision is supposed to be released in November and I will be anxiously awaiting what happens along with what the reactions of their “fans” will be. So whether you believe they should be released or not, I think we can all agree that the obsessiveness surrounding them needs to be put to an end.