Erik Menendez, one of the two Menendez brothers who gunned down their parents inside their Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, mansion in 1989, is condemning what he describes as a “dishonest portrayal” of their story in a new documentary.
Joseph Menendez, who goes by his middle name Lyle, and his brother, Erik, shot their parents, Jose and Mary “Kitty” Menendez. They were both convicted in the murders and ordered to serve life in prison in 1996, but they have recently been seeking reduced sentences.
“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,” Erik said in a statement that his wife, Tammi Menendez, posted to X.
The documentary, “The Menendez Brothers,” which features interviews with both brothers, premieres on Netflix Oct. 7. A press release for the film promises to “offer another perspective — that of the brothers themselves.”
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Erik and Lyle Menendez listen during their trial in the 1990s. (Ted Soqui/Sygma)
The documentary will also detail the brothers’ allegations that their father sexually assaulted them.
But at least one brother does not appear to be happy with the final product.
The Menendez brothers — Erik, left, and Lyle — on the steps of their Beverly Hills home in November 1989. (Ronald L. Soble/Los Angeles Times)
“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,” Erik said in his statement shared by Tammi.
“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.”
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Erik further demanded to “[l]et the truth stand as the truth.”
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“How demoralizing to know that one man with power can undermine decades of progress in shedding light on childhood trauma,” he continued in the statement. “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 brothers’ attorneys have argued they should have been convicted of manslaughter rather than murder, in which case they already would have been released from prison.
Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
