“You just wanted to make money off their trauma” - Internet slams Ryan Murphy for justifying improper portrayal of the Menedez brothers’ relationship

Ryan Murphy's latest Netflix true crime drama, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, has drawn widespread criticism from social media users. The second season of Murphy's Monster anthology series was released on the streaming platform on Thursday, September 19. It focused on the infamous case of the two Menendez brothers, who murdered their parents in 1989.

During their trial, the brothers claimed that they committed the murders out of fear of their father, who allegedly abused them s*xually, emotionally, and physically. The show faced backlash for implying that the Menendez brothers had an incestuous relationship without substantial evidence. Erik Menendez and his wife, Tammi Menendez, strongly condemned the series shortly after its release.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Monday, September 23, Ryan Murphy defended his show and claimed that "60 to 65 percent" of it centered around the abuse endured by the brothers. He thought that there was an "obligation" to show the perspectives of everyone involved in the case, citing journalist Dominick Dunne's reports when it came to the show's incestual angle. Ryan Murphy's defense was posted by Pop Crave on X, prompting users to share their opinions in the comments.

Social media users were unhappy with Ryan's defense of the show. One X (formerly Twitter) user who went by @oasisraindrops thought that Murphy was simply trying to profit off the trauma of others:

""an obligation" you just wanted to make money off their trauma so you needed the show to be talked about and this was the easiest way to do that..."

Netizens slammed Murphy (Image via X/@oasisraindrops)

Similar reactions followed as Netizens were angry at Murphy for not apologizing and, instead, justifying his Netflix show. Users thought that Murphy was "sensationalizing trauma for views."

Netizens slammed Murphy (Image via X/@PopCrave)

A few social media users called Ryan Murphy a "sick individual" who turned the Menendez brothers' story into a "weird fantasy."

Netizens slammed Murphy (Image via X/@PopCrave)

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Ryan Murphy defended his show by referencing the makers' "obligation as storytellers"

In his Entertainment Tonight interview, Ryan Murphy thought it was "interesting" that Erik had seemingly released a statement without seeing his show. He also stated that seeing your life play out on screen could be hard.

The Monsters series director mentioned that the whole thing was handled very carefully and noted that the brothers were given "their day in court," where they openly discussed it. He knew that dealing with matters of s*xual abuse on television could be controversial but stressed that all points of view had to be considered in this case. He called it a "‘Rashomon’ kind of approach" involving four people. He added:

"Two of them are dead. What about the parents? We had an obligation as storytellers to also try and put in their perspective based on our research, which we did."

When it came to the controversial incestual relationship between the brothers portrayed on the show, Murphy said that the whole thing was based on real points of view and theories from so many people that stemmed during the trial. He stated to the publication:

"Dominick Dunne [A Vanity Fair journalist portrayed on the show by Nathan Lane] wrote several articles talking about that theory. We are presenting his point of view. And we had an obligation to show all of that and we did."

Before the show's release, Tammi Menendez, the wife of Erik Menendez, took to X on September 10 to claim that the show was a "complete train wreck" with untrue and exaggerated portrayals of events. She said that Murphy's interpretation missed the mark regarding the facts. On September 19, after the show's release, Tammi wrote:

"I'm sorry to know I was right. The Netflix show was a insane perversion of the truth and a complete and tragic misrepresentation of Erik and Lyle!"

On the same day, Tammi released a statement from her husband regarding the show. Erik Menendez criticized the show, describing its portrayal of him and his brother as slanderous, "vile and appalling." He added that the show's "dishonest portrayal" set them several steps backward and thought that Ryan Murphy couldn't be this "naive and inaccurate" without ill intentions.

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Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is the second installment of the anthology series by Murphy. The first part focussed on Jeffery Dahmer, a serial killer and a s*x offender. Both parts are available to stream on Netflix.