For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Erik Menendez has described the new Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story as a “dishonest portrayal” of the crimes he committed with his brother Lyle, accusing the show’s creator Ryan Murphy of “disheartening slander.”

The Menendez brothers were convicted of the 1989 murders of their parents, José and Kitty. They were arrested for first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder outside their home in March 1990 and sentenced to life in prison in 1996. In 2024, new evidence emerged that has the potential to set them free.

The siblings are serving life sentences at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California.

Monsters stars Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny as José and Kitty, with Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch as the brothers. The drama includes the harrowing sexual abuse that Lyle and Erik alleged to have been perpetrated by their father, but Erik Menendez has accused Murphy of distorting the truth.

Menendez responded to the series in a statement posted to X/Twitter by his wife, Tammi. It reads: “I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show. I can only believe they were done so on purpose.

“It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.

open image in gallery

Advertisement

“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward – back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women.

“Those awful lies have been disputed and exposed by countless brave victims over the last two decades who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out. So now Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander.

He continued: “Is the truth not enough? Let the truth stand as the truth. How demoralizing to know that one man with power can undermine decades of progress in shedding light on childhood trauma. Violence is never an answer, never a solution, and is always tragic.

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

Advertisement

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free

“As such, I hope it is never forgotten that violence against a child creates a hundred horrendous and silent crime scenes darkly shadowed behind glitter and glamor and rarely exposed until tragedy penetrates everyone involved. To all those who have reached out and supported me, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

The Independent has contacted Murphy’s representative for comment.

Since the series arrived on Netflix on Thursday, viewers have been cautioning others on social media about the graphic nature of the violence depicted in the show.

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Kim Kardashian and Cooper Koch, star of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, reportedly paid a visit this weekend to convicted murderers Erik and Lyle Menendez, along with other prisoners, at San Diego County’s Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.

Yesterday, Erik Menendez’s wife Tammi posted a statement on social media describing Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series Monsters as “dishonest” and “disheartening slander.”

According to TMZ, Kardashian was joined by her sister Khloe Kardashian, her mother Kris Jenner and film producer Scott Budnick along with Koch, who plays Erik Menendez in the new series.

Kardashian, a longtime advocate for criminal justice reform, is said to have discussed prison reform with the inmates. She also spoke of the Greenspace project, which encourages rehabilitation by beautifying prison yards, which both Menendez brothers have been involved in.

The brothers are serving life sentences for the 1989 murders of their parents, José and Kitty. They were arrested for first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder outside their home in March 1990 and sentenced in 1996. In 2024, new evidence emerged that has the potential to set them free.

Monsters stars Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny as José and Kitty, with Koch and Nicholas Chavez as the brothers.

open image in gallery

Advertisement

In a statement posted to X/Twitter by his wife Tammi, Erik Menendez responded to the series by saying: “I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show. I can only believe they were done so on purpose.

“It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.

“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward – back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women.

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

Advertisement

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free

“Those awful lies have been disputed and exposed by countless brave victims over the last two decades who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out. So now Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander.

“Is the truth not enough? Let the truth stand as the truth. How demoralizing to know that one man with power can undermine decades of progress in shedding light on childhood trauma. Violence is never an answer, never a solution, and is always tragic.

“As such, I hope it is never forgotten that violence against a child creates a hundred horrendous and silent crime scenes darkly shadowed behind glitter and glamor and rarely exposed until tragedy penetrates everyone involved. To all those who have reached out and supported me, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

The Independent has contacted Murphy’s representative for his response to the statement.

Since the series arrived on Netflix on Thursday, viewers have been cautioning others on social media about the graphic nature of the violence depicted in the show.

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Gilmore Girls star Scott Cohen has spoken about the life-threatening car collision that nearly claimed his life earlier this year.

The actor, 62, was driving home in Brooklyn, New York with his wife Anastasia Traina, when their vehicle was struck by that of a suspect in a high-speed car chase.

He was asked about the crash while on the red carpet for the premiere of The Penguin, HBO Max’s new serialised spin-off of The Batman.

“We thought we were dead,” he told Page Six. “My wife’s arm is all messed up. I have a broken sternum, which is supposed to be never-healing. It’s like called a nonunion break, and it’s never going to heal.”

The driver of the vehicle that crashed into Cohen’s car was being pursued by police at the time. After the crash, the suspect’s car is reported to have burst into flames, with the suspect leaving on foot and exchanging gunfire with law enforcement.

Cohen previously shared a photo of himself in hospital for treatment, alongside a caption acknowledging “the fragility of us and how life can change in an instant”.

“With broken bones, bruised bodies, lots of drugs, and the impact of a random act of aggression that hit us we venture on,” he wrote.

open image in gallery

“I’m very pissed my existence right now is about healing but at the same time truly grateful @afunnybunnypicture and I are both here to experience the love and incredible generosity of friends and family.”

Cohen is probably best known for playing the role of Max Medina in the hit WB series Gilmore Girls.

The Penguin sees him star opposite Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti in a dark drama set in the criminal underworld of Batman’s Gotham City.

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Advertisement

Try for free

In a three-star review for The Independent, Nick Hilton wrote: “Most people won’t be watching The Penguin as anything more than a Batman spin-off. In this sense, it’s more akin to Todd Phillips’s Joker than the rest of the caped crusader’s world.

“Farrell’s Penguin is very human: flawed but ambitious, unappealing but confident. The Oscar-nominated actor gives what I suspect is a good performance, but he’s unrecognisable, caked under layers of prosthetics and a fat suit. Farrell is a leading man, with leading man good looks. I don’t quite understand the logic of hiring and then hiding him, rather than just casting someone a better physical match for the character. It feels like he’s taking food out of the mouths of Paul Giamatti’s children.”