Erik Menendez Says Ryan Murphy's "Monsters" Series Is A "Dishonest Portrayal"

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This story contains discussion of sexual abuse and child abuse.

It's quite possible you've been watching Ryan Murphy's latest Netflix series, Monsters: the Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, since it hit the streaming service this weekend.

The limited series is based on the real-life story of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were given consecutive life sentences in 1996 after being convicted for murdering their parents, José and Mary Louise Menendez.

During the trial, Lyle and Erik claimed that they were sexually abused by their father, and that their mother knew the abuse was taking place as well.

Earlier this week, Erik's wife Tammi Menendez took to social media to issue a statement on behalf of her husband, who is still currently in jail.

@TammiMenendez1 / Via x.com

“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant likes rampant in the show," Erik said in the statement. "I can only believe they were done so on purpose."

"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.”

“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward," the statement also read, "back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women.”

“Those awful lies have been disrupted and exposed by countless brave victims over the last two decades who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out. So now Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander.”

“Is the truth not enough?" his statement also posed. "Let the truth stand as the truth. How demoralizing to know that one man with power can undermine decades of progress in shedding light on childhood trauma."

You can read Erik's entire statement here.

If you are concerned that a child is experiencing or may be in danger of abuse, you can call or text the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453(4.A.CHILD); service can be provided in over 140 languages.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE, which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.

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