Monsters star poses with bloody Menendez costumes in “messed up” photo
NetflixNicholas Alexander Chavez, who played Lyle Menendez in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, is receiving backlash online after posing with two fans dressed as the real-life brothers.
As one of the most talked-about true crime shows of 2024, it’s unsurprising that Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was hit with a litany of allegations and criticisms when it dropped in September.
Now, the latest comes from an image shared of cast member Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who played Lyle in the Netflix series. In the photo, currently making the rounds on social media, Chavez can be seen posing with two men wearing costumes clearly meant to emanate the brothers.
One of the outfits is covered in fake blood, alluding to the brothers’ murder of their parents in 1989. Many responses to the image are ones of disgust and disappointment, with some of the blame being placed on Chavez himself.
“Honestly I’m kinda disappointed with Nicholas after seeing this as he could have easily said no to taking pictures with them,” one Reddit user pointed out.
A second added: “I’m really scratching my head at this point at Nicholas’s behavior… Seriously, what the f**k was he thinking posing for this picture?”
“It’s weird,” another wrote. “It’s one thing to be INSPIRED by the style in the series, but actually dressing up as them especially as a Halloween costume is straight up weird. Those are real people who were victims of horrible abuse, not fictional characters from a horror movie. Nicholas doesn’t seem to care that Lyle was a real person and not a fictional character.”
NetflixHowever, others are pointing out that Chavez himself wasn’t dressed up. As one comment said, “It’s distasteful and messed up for him to take this picture but most of the hate needs to go towards these guys.”
“I feel Nicholas is a young guy and new to this and was asked for a pic and said yes, not thinking anything of it,” another agreed. “I think the internet has a bunch of nobodies thinking they are important, constantly being performative and throwing tantrums about literal bullsh*t.”
A third wrote: “I think in Nicholas’s case, he didn’t mean anything by it. He probably just saw two fans and couldn’t say ‘no thanks’ to a picture.”
For more, find out everything the Menendez Brothers documentary left out. You can also find out why Netflix doesn’t get true crime anymore, and how the brothers got caught in real life.