How accurate is Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story? Fact-checking all important parts of the show

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story premiered on Netflix on September 19, 2024. This true crime biopic follows the horrifying true story of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who murdered their own parents with shotguns on August 20, 1989.

The series stars Nicholas Chavez, Cooper Koch, Javier Barden, and Chloe Sevigny in leading roles, staying largely faithful to real-life events. Showrunners Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan have spoken at length about how they relied on the testimony of the Menendez brothers and other evidence introduced during their trial to keep the story as accurate as possible.

Nonetheless, certain aspects of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, such as the perceived s*xualization of the murderous brothers, have come under contention.

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Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story borrows heavily from real events

According to a Q&A covered by Vanity Fair, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story covered its subject matter due to the coverage the real-life murder case was getting on social media platforms such as TikTok. Showrunner Ian Brennan attributed this renewed attention to society's increasing focus on sensitive topics compared to the 1980s and 1990s, particularly male s*xual abuse.

The Netflix series portrays both the prosecution's and defense's versions of the events that led to the murder. The Menendez brothers are shown spending lavishly from their parents's estate while also being subjected to horrific cruelty and abuse growing up.

Some details from the Netflix series are directly drawn from real-life events. For instance, Lyle Menendez's daydream of owning a chicken wing franchise is based on the fact that the real Lyle Menendez purchased Chuck's Spring Street Cafe in Princeton and renamed it Mr. Buffalo.

His Princeton classmate and CFO of the establishment, Hayden Rogers, said to Roll Call in 2012:

"He called me up and—I was working in construction—and he called me up and asked me if I would be interested in managing a restaurant he was looking at buying. I went up, talked about it, decided it was a good opportunity, so I went to work for him."

He further claimed that they were planning to expand the chicken wings franchise to universities such as UCLA, and Lyle was arrested while going out to lunch with Rogers.

Another detail based on real life is the fact that Milli Vanilli's Girl I'm Gonna Miss You played during Lyle's eulogy for his parents. This is what actually happened when the Director's Guild did a memorial service for Jose and Kitty Menendez back in 1989.

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The portrayal of the Menendez brothers' relationship has drawn contention

While Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story mostly sticks closely to the facts of the true crime story, one aspect that has drawn criticism is its portrayal of the relationship between the brothers.

Writing for Vulture, Jen Chaney expressed her mixed feelings regarding certain scenes that seemingly had homoer*tic undertones. Although their relationship was allegedly colored by the s*xual abuse they experienced at the hands of their father, some critics have still called the nature of these scenes exploitative and sensationalist.

However, others have defended the portrayal of the Menendez brothers's relationship, pointing out that they really are simply reacting to their parents's abuse.

Certain scenes, such as Lyle admitting to molesting his own brother, have been cited by both defenders and critics of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

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Given the gruesome nature of the crimes the Netflix series has covered, it was bound to step into controversial waters at some point. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story covers one of the most captivating murder cases of the 1980s, and all episodes can be streamed on Netflix.