Monsters producer says Netflix series is “grounded in facts” after Menendez family backlash

Monsters producer David McMillan has spoken out about the Netflix series, insisting it was as factual as it could be amid criticism from the Menendez family.

The new installment of Ryan Murphy’s true crime anthology focuses on the murders committed by Erik and Lyle Menendez.

Although it mostly follows the events surrounding the incident as they occurred (including the inclusion of a graphic murder scene), Murphy and his team take a few liberties – especially the close relationship between Erik and Lyle, which they depicted as being incestuous .

McMillan assured audiences that the crew took the authenticity of the story seriously, telling Variety, “We are talking about real people… many of them are still alive. We want to make sure that our narrative is grounded in the facts.”

He continued, “We wanted to really present a lot of different points of view, and then let the audience sort of decide what to take.”

McMillan wasn’t the only person on the show’s crew who thought the show delivered a concrete and truthful story. Javier Bardem, who plays the brothers’ father, said the series deals with the “consequences of trauma.”

“Unless [it is] properly addressed and healed, it’s going to have a huge, horrible, dramatic effect on generations to come,” the actor added.

Netflix

Erik Menendez delivered a statement about the series through his wife, Tammi, in which he slammed the streaming service and Murphy for spreading “horrible and blatant lies” about his crimes.

Other members of the Menendez family have taken to social media to call the show “pure evil,” specifically when it came to depicting Erik and Lyle as having romantic feelings for one another.

However, actor Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who plays Lyle, stands by the on-screen depiction of the brothers, as he told Variety, “This show creates such conflicting emotions. I think that’s what has made this case so compelling for so long.”

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is streaming on Netflix now. You can also read our breakdown of the ending, and what legal experts say about the brothers’ appeal case.