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Erik Menendez criticizes Netflix's “Monsters” for “dishonest portrayal”

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Erik Menendez criticizes Netflix and a Hollywood producer for a new series based on his life.

Menendez, one half of the Menendez brothers who were convicted along with their brother Lyle Menendez of murdering their parents in their Beverly Hills, California, home in 1989, spoke out about the series. In a statement shared by his wife, Tammie Menendez called the series “a caricature of Lyle based on horrific and blatant lies” on social media Thursday night.

“I can only believe they were done that way on purpose,” he said in the statement. “It is with a heavy heart that I must say that I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be so naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives to do this without malicious intent.”

He continued, “It saddens me to know that Netflix's dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime has pushed painful truths back several steps – back to an era when prosecutors built their narrative on a belief system that said men were not sexually assaulted and that men experienced rape trauma differently than women.”

Menendez added in his statement that “these horrific lies have been refuted and exposed over the past two decades by countless brave victims who have overcome their personal shame and courageously spoken out” and “how Murphy shapes his horrific story through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and me and disheartening slanders.” He later asked, “Is the truth not enough?” and thanked people for their support.

The trial against the brothers caused a great stir in the USA at the time. The brothers, who argued that the murder of José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez was the result of years of abuse, were found guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The second part of Netflix's true crime anthology “Monster” was released on Thursday and follows the success of last year's similarly controversial series “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” which sparked strong reactions from the families of some of Dahmer's victims.

Release date, cast, where to watch: “Monster: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez”

What happened in the Menendez family murders?

The murders of the Menendez brothers sparked controversy and curiosity about the nature of their crimes.

In August, it will be three decades, 35 years to be exact, since the murders. The brothers were convicted of using shotguns to kill their wealthy parents in the family's Beverly Hills mansion. Lyle Menendez, then 21, and his brother Erik Menendez, then 18, shot Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez multiple times, including at point-blank range in the head.

At the time, Lyle and Erik claimed that their father, a former executive at RCA Records, had physically, sexually and emotionally abused them throughout their childhood. In “Monsters,” Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch play Lyle and Erik Menendez, respectively.

Oscar winner Javier Bardem plays José Menendez in the Murphy series, while Oscar nominee Chloë Sevigny takes on the role of Kitty.

Contributors: Erin Jensen

By Vanessa

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