Were the Menendez brothers romantically involved? Fact-checking the alleged claims

The infamous Menendez brothers have shot to popularity once again with the release of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix. Since its release on the platform on September 19, 2024, the show has successfully positioned itself among the top ten shows worldwide.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has sparked several discussions about the Menendez brothers, including various theories and some confirmed facts.

In addition to the terrible crimes committed by the Menendez brothers and the years of sexual abuse they allegedly experienced, which drove them to commit those crimes, conversations about their purported incestuous relationship have also emerged.

These conversations owe their origins to the Menendez brothers' depiction in Ryan Murphy's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, where the two are seen engaging in activities that could insinuate their relationship was more than a brotherly one.

However, since then, these claims have been refuted by Robert Rand (author of the 2018 book The Menendez Murders), who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter and said:

“I don’t believe that Erik and Lyle Menendez were ever lovers. I think that’s a fantasy that was in the mind of Dominick Dunne [the reporter portrayed in the series by Nathan Lane]."

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The Menendez brothers were not romantically involved

In Netflix's crime television show Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, there were at least three instances where it was suggested that Lyle and Erik shared an incestuous relationship. While Murphy was subtle with some instances, which audiences interpreted as a form of trauma bonding between the brothers, he was more explicit with others.

In one of the scenes from the show, it is depicted that Lyle and Erik's mother walks in on the two in the bathroom, unclothed, in a compromising position. The show did not explicitly address the nature of their relationship, but since the show's release, people have been curious about this aspect of the Menendez brothers’ lives.

That said, as previously mentioned, Rand, one of the first people to address the Menendez brothers' case, told The Hollywood Reporter that theories about the brothers' alleged relationship are false. In addition to his earlier statement, he said:

“Rumors were going around the trial that maybe there was some sort of weird relationship between Erik and Lyle themselves. But I believe the only physical contact they might have had is what Lyle testified, that when Lyle was 8 years old, he took Erik out in the woods and played with him with a toothbrush — which is what [their father] José had done with him.

He also added:

"And so I certainly wouldn’t call that a se**al relationship of any sort. It’s a response to trauma.”

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Erik Menendez called out Murphy for wrongful portrayal in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story

Following the release of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Tammi Menendez, Erik Menendez's wife, released a statement on Erik’s behalf on X (previously Twitter) on September 20, 2024.

Among other things, Erik’s statement accused Ryan Murphy of inaccurately representing the Menendez brothers in the show, which, according to him, has contributed to the continuation of wrongful theories concerning them. He specifically spoke about how Lyle was depicted in a negative light in the show and alleged it was done on purpose.

Erik's statement also emphasized the issues of child trauma and child abuse, which played an important role in the Menendez brothers’ case. He claimed the show addressed these important topics carelessly, leading to a distortion of the truth.

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All nine episodes of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story are currently available on Netflix.