Fact check: Was Erik Menendez gay? Explained

Erik Menendez has become a renewed subject of discussion following the release of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, a Netflix series, released on September 19, 2024, created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. The 1989 murders of José and Kitty Menendez by their sons Erik and Lyle form the foundation of the series.

The way the show presents delicate subjects — including a hint of s**ual intimacy between the brothers — has caused debate among viewers. As part of Netflix’s Monsters anthology, the show has reawakened public interest in the Menendez brothers' case.

During a 1996 interview with Barbara Walters, Erik clearly said that he was not gay, which contrasts with theories introduced during his first trial. Deputy District Attorney Lester Kuriyama speculated that Erik’s ability to describe the abuse in detail stemmed from being gay. But it was a flawed assumption and was based on problematic perceptions of abuse victims.

The trial of Erik Menendez drew significant media attention, particularly in the first televised trial in 1993. Although tried separately, the Menendez brothers produced two hung juries. They were tried together in 1995 and eventually found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder.

After years of mistreatment from their father, José, the brothers had acted in self-defense, as claimed by the defense. The prosecution, though, claimed that they killed their parents to inherit riches and cited extravagant purchases they made later.

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Erik Menendez’s trial and accusations

The trials of Erik Menendez were not only marked by their sensational nature but also by the controversial claims made about his s*xual orientation.

Lester Kuriyama, the deputy district attorney, introduced the idea that Erik’s detailed testimony of abuse was linked to him being gay. The prosecutor’s questioning of Erik about his s**ual orientation was based on these assumptions rather than any factual evidence.

Erik denied these claims in his 1996 interview with Barbara Walters, dismissing the notion that he was gay. The claim that Erik was gay only emerged due to the prosecutor’s approach during the closing arguments of the first trial. It was never proven in court, and Erik himself has consistently refuted it.

The series Monsters season 2 reintroduced this topic, but Erik Menendez has criticized the show for the portrayal of his life.

In the series, a scene in the fifth episode, titled The Hurt Man, portrays a fictional conversation between Erik and Leslie Abramson, where Erik’s s*ual orientation and AIDS are mentioned, but this conversation apparently never took place in real life.

Although Erik testified that his father often used homophobic slurs against him, he never publicly or during the trial said that he had dated boys. The show’s inclusion of such scenes adds to the sensationalism surrounding the case but strays from actual events.

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Aftermath of the trial and public perception

When Erik Menendez and his brother Lyle were found guilty in 1996, they were given life sentences without the chance of parole.

As The New York Times has mentioned, their case has garnered renewed attention over the years, particularly from younger generations who became familiar with the trial through platforms like TikTok.

Erik Menendez has expressed disapproval of Netflix's Monsters series despite its new portrayals of his story. On Friday, September 20, 2024, Erik criticized the ten-episode series and how he and his brother were portrayed on Facebook. The brothers said that they shot in self-defense after years of s**ual and physical abuse by their parents, especially José.

The post read:

“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show."

He added:

“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.”

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is streaming on Netflix.