Menendez family slams Monster Season 2 incest scene as “pure evil”

Alongside Netflix viewers, the Menendez family have been sharing their responses to the incestuous scenes in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story – and it’s not good. 

Warning: some may find this content distressing. 

Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s true crime anthology series returned to Netflix this week with the release of Monster Season 2, centering on the infamous case in which Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their parents Jose and Kitty in 1989. 

The brothers are now fighting their case from prison, with new accusations of abuse against Jose Menendez emerging. It’s one of many reasons Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is facing backlash right now.

In the same way that Dahmer received criticism for “romanticizing” the notorious serial killer, the new TV show has been accused of being “misleading” and “gratuitous” – only this time there are fears it could impact Erik and Lyle’s appeal. 

One of many gripes viewers have are the scenes that allude to the brothers as incestuous lovers, with one scene in particular showing Kitty (Chloë Sevigny) walking in on Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and Erik (Cooper Koch) in the shower together. 

Netflix

Relatives of the brothers, who operate Lyle’s Facebook page, have shared a number of posts condemning the show’s faults since its release, describing the “absurd notion that the brothers were lovers” as “pure evil.”

“So these ‘writers/creators’ got up in the morning, ate their cornflakes, and went to an office where they decided to lie about rape survivors who have suffered every single day of their life. The professionals did this for money. How ironic,” they wrote. 

“Never forget: There was more evidence of abuse in the first trial than there is in most successful child abuse prosecutions. 

“They had a plethora of material to draw from, and this is what they chose to do?????  It’s laughable. It’s pathetic. And it is re-victimizing. It is imaginary. It is fiction. 

Netflix

“And to put out into the world the absurd notion that the brothers were lovers is the height of pure evil.  

“How convenient that the new evidence was never brought up! The truth is that I have no idea what I just watched because it bears no resemblance to reality or the human beings I know.”

They finished by saying, “Even if it was billed as fiction, it would still be awful.”

In another post, they wrote, “Why don’t male sexual assault victims come forward? Because they are afraid to run into the likes of the people who created this trash.”

In their live updates on each episode of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, they noted that there were some “emotionally moving parts” in Episode 4. 

However, it goes on to highlight one of the complaints from Netflix viewers: “They have already established what they want you to think of these characters (and these are only fictional characters). 

“The flashbacks that ‘re-write’ what we already saw and was presented as fact early on in the series only serve to imply that these are the characters’ ‘stories’.”

As a “palate cleanser,” the brothers’ family recommended watching Menendez Brothers: Misjudged, “one of the best documentaries made on this case.” 

If you want to give it a go, the doc is available for streaming on Max, and it will also re-air at 9pm ET on Investigation Discovery tonight (September 20). 

To learn more, read our breakdown of the Menendez case and what legal experts say about the brothers’ appeal.