Despite critiques and controversy, Ryan Murphy stands by Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story, the latest chapter of his Netflix true-crime series.
Based on the high-profile ’90s case that found siblings Lyle and Erik guilty of the murder of their parents, who they claimed were abusive, Monsters‘ accuracy and portrayal have been criticized by viewers and the subjects themselves.
Still, as Murphy told Entertainment Tonight during a recent interview, the show — which he spent three years researching — “presents over 10 points of view of different events,” and he “had an obligation to show all of that.”
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The biggest backlash came from Erik Menéndez (portrayed by Cooper Koch), who called Monsters “dishonest” in a statement, alleging that Murphy “cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
In response, the American Horror Story creator told ET, “It’s interesting [Erik] issued a statement” before watching, adding that he “[knows Erik] hasn’t seen the show in prison” but hopes he does.
The 1996 conviction has been called out by the brothers (and even Rosie O’Donnell) for taking place during an “era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and … experienced rape trauma differently than woman,” as Menéndez wrote.
But as Murphy countered, his statement neglects that “60 to 65% of our show” is centered “around the abuse and what [the brothers] claimed happened to them.”
“We do it very carefully, and we give them their day in court, and they talk openly about it,” Murphy said, adding the facts are “largely” presented from their perspectives.
Nevertheless, one of the most controversial aspects has been the show’s depiction of a homoerotic relationship between Erik and Lyle (played by Nicholas Chavez), with marketing and scenes suggesting they’re lovers.
(Chavez was especially evasive when ET asked about its prominence, telling the reporter, “It’s an interesting question. I don’t know.”)
On the other hand, Murphy defended its inclusion as journalist Dominick Dunne’s narrative. The late writer, portrayed by Nathan Lane in the show, wrote “several articles” around the Menéndez brothers’ relationship and “thought that theory had validity.”
Ultimately, Murphy is no stranger to controversy; his first season of Monster following Jeffrey Dahmer was panned for its exploitative nature and treatment of the victims.
However, as the 58-year-old producer implied, he thinks critiques of The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story lack nuance.
“In this age where people can really talk about sexual abuse, which I didn’t have when I was younger … talking about it and … writing about all points of view can be controversial,” he explained.
“[This show is] a Rashomon kind of approach, where there were four people involved … Two of them are dead and two of them are alive … We had an obligation as storytellers to also try and put in their perspective based on our research.”
Needless to say, all eyes will be on Murphy’s next shocking murder series, starring Charlie Hunnam as notorious killer Ed Gein.
Related
Rosie O’Donnell has thoughts on Ryan Murphy’s “wildly inaccurate” Menéndez brothers series
“It was disappointing, is all I can say, knowing what I know about the case”
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