Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story spoilers ahead. This article also references murder and abuse.
Spend just a few minutes on the homepage of any streaming service and there’ll be true crime content at every turn, battling for your attention. From inside looks at con artists’ multi-million-dollar scams, to chilling documentaries on the world’s worst exes, crime television is a lucrative industry that shows no signs of slowing down – even if the ethical implications continue down increasingly murkier paths.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is the latest of these products, recounting the tale of the American brothers who, in 1996, were convicted of brutally murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. In August 1989, Lyle and Erik, aged 21 and 18 respectively, entered the den of their parents’ Beverly Hills mansion with shotguns and opened fire, leaving Jose and Kitty’s bodies essentially mutilated by bullets.
In two highly publicised trials, the first of which was televised, the prosecution argued that Lyle and Erik killed their parents over money, while the brothers claimed that their motivations came after suffering long-term abuse at the hands of their parents. Both alleged that Jose had sexually abused them since they were six years old.
Eventually, Lyle and Erik were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in jail without the possibility of parole. Nearly 30 years on, the story has been given the Ryan Murphy treatment with the latest edition of his Monster anthology, following on from the 2022 hit Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Murphy’s adaptations of major headline stories are consistently with widespread reaction, from critical praise for his 2016 dramatisation of the OJ Simpson trial, to online backlash over Dahmer’s apparent glamorisation of serial killers. Now, the Menendez series is becoming a similarly hot talking point – mostly over its implied incestuous relationship between Lyle and Erik.
Several moments in the series show the brothers engaged in intense physical contact. A party scene shows elder brother Lyle suggestively running his thumb over Erik’s lips, as bystanders grimace. In another, Lyle gives Erik a peck on the lips after caressing his jaw. It’s a jarring addition to a story that is already tough to stomach, made even more so by the fact that it differs from most other accounts.
In the many articles written about the case in the decades since, the suggestion of an illicit affair between the brothers has never seriously been included as part of their story, much less them killing their parents out of fear they’d expose their sordid relationship, as the series posits. During the trials, Lyle admitted to sexually abusing Erik, claiming it was something taught to him by their father, and made a tearful apology to his brother.
Outside of this harrowing detail, incest between Lyle and Erik has not been included in the discussions of the case, which has caused some viewers to question its inclusion in the series. Many have shared their objections to this controversial plot point on social media, accusing the show creators of sensationalising the story for entertainment value, rather than doing justice to the complex reality of the case. It's become such a talking point that the term ‘Menendez brothers gay’ has been trending on Google for two days.
But others have suggested that hinting at inappropriate contact between the brothers is a way of highlighting how years of trauma at their father’s hand could lead to a disturbing approach to sexual relationships. While that could be a worthy point to explore in a purely fictional story, in a real-life-based drama, this detail instead lands as unnecessary conjecture, included to make the story more shocking and discussion-worthy, rather than a beneficial detail to provide deeper context or emotional heft. By drawing the viewers’ attention to a scandalous connection between Lyle and Erik, the series runs the risk of detracting from the horrific abuse, only to make the story more "captivating" – and it's a dangerous path for true crime shows to take.
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Though there is a wealth of options for true crime programming, show creators shouldn’t feel compelled to highlight layers of speculative trauma, to make their story stand out. Not only is there a responsibility to stay true to the roots of the information, it is also important not to trauma-mine real people's lives purely for entertainment, and to feed viewers' increasing appetites for greater shocks. This genre of show shouldn't need to add further drama to make the stories important or noteworthy – the stories themselves should be enough.
In one of the standout moments of the series, the fifth episode “The Hurt Man” features Erik giving a lengthy account of the abuse he’d been subjected to. This is a story that deserves to be handled with care and with consideration for victims of abuse – the Menendez brothers, as well as the countless numbers of others who have experienced similar. As much as true crime series may feel as if they need to go to extreme lengths to be unique, some of the most powerful moments can come from sticking more closely to reality.
At the time of writing, Netflix nor Ryan Murphy have publicly commented on the response to the series, and social media users continue to share their mixed reactions to the series. It's likely to shoot up the Netflix charts over the next few days – and before we know it, there’ll be another true crime series that everyone is talking about. Though we can hope the next true crime sensation won’t need to exaggerate trauma to get their point across, it's doubtful this'll be the case.
