"You owe them an apology" - Internet slams Ryan Murphy as he says the Menendez brothers should send him flowers

Ryan Murphy reacts to the Menéndez brothers, the subject of his recent Netflix documentary, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, calling parts of the series "dishonest." In his sit-down with the Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, the producer remarked:

"The Menendez brothers should be sending me flowers. They haven’t had so much attention in 30 years. And it’s gotten the attention of not only this country, but all over the world."

Murphy's comment comes after the interviewer questioned him if, seeing the public backlash, he believed Monsters would deliver what it set out to do by its end. He asserted that the show brought attention to the case, and the show delivered on what he set out to do.

For the unversed, Lyle and Erik Menendez murdered their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in 1989. Police did not suspect them initially but eventually arrested the brothers after Erik's psychotherapist's (guilt-driven Erik confessed to his doctor) mistress went to the police. They were convicted in 1996 and are serving a life term without parole.

As Ryan Murphy's interview went viral, internet users were infuriated. One remarked:

A comment reacting to the news (Image via X/ @PopBase)

Many pointed out that the Menéndez brothers' story was being spoken about long before Myrphy's show. Here are some comments seen on X:

"Mind you people on TikTok have talked about them long before his f**k ass show.. if anything they need to sue his delusional a** for even making that sh*t," one stated.

"why is he acting like everyone forgot about the menendez brothers before this show came out ????? cos that's definitley not the case lol," another noted.

"can we all collectively agree to never watch this man’s stuff again bc i haven’t for years and i don’t think anyone needs to keep him relevant anymore," bubs!! remarked.

Others slammed Ryan Murphy for profiting off Erik and Lyle's trauma.

"u should be sending them flowers seeing as you're the one profiting off of their trauma u sick freak," another angry user commented.

"you exploited their trauma for a quick buck. they have every right to be angry, as do their family members on their behalf," @AmberTheFantasy expressed.

"profiting off their trauma and failing to depict the tragedy accurately… oh you’re going to hell ryan murphy," one netizen added.

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"I can only believe they were done on purpose"- Erik Menendez calls out Ryan Murphy about Monsters

During their trial, the Menéndez claimed that they killed their parents out of fear that their father would kill them after they threatened to expose him for years of s**ual, emotional, and physical abuse. However, prosecutors argued that they did it to inherit their parents' money.

After Monsters came out, Erik's wife, Tammi Menendez, shared a statement on his behalf on X. He called out Ryan Murphy for his "inaccurate," "vile, and appalling" portrayal of him and his brother and the facts of their lives. He added:

"I can only believe they were done on purpose... I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent."

Tammi's post

However, asserting that the show brought attention to their case, Ryan Murphy added:

"There is no world that we live in where the Menendez brothers or their wives or lawyers would say, “You know what, that was a wonderful, accurate depiction of our clients.” That was never going to happen, and I wasn’t interested in that happening."

The producer reasoned that he was not just telling the story of Eric and Lyle but also his parents and others involved. He explained that he had "an obligation to so many people," adding that he finds it "reprehensible and disgusting" that the brothers are playing the "victim card."

Ryan Murphy noted that both things can be true: that Erik and Lyle killed their parents and that they were abused. But remarked that no one would know the truth. Murphy also commented on the upcoming Netflix documentary based on the brothers (featuring their live audio interviews) that tells their side of the story. He remarked:

"I’m not going to watch it, because I’m not interested in anything else about the Menendez brothers. I don’t want to watch the documentary. I have no interest in meeting them. I have no interest in talking to their lawyers or their wives. I’ve just sort of done it, because I was telling a bigger story, a cultural story. I wasn’t doing a biography of them. I was telling a story about a certain place and time."

Ryan Murphy also explained that he wanted to bring male s**ual abuse to the forefront.

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