Content warning: This article contains references to sexual assault and violence.

The recent surge in popularity of the Menendez brothers’ case, sparked by Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” has reignited public interest in the infamous 1989 murders. This production, however, has sparked controversy and criticism for its lack of authenticity to the real events, questionable portrayal of the brothers and producer Ryan Murphy’s track record of sensationalizing real-life cases.

Ryan Murphy’s series claimed to offer a nuanced look at the brothers’ story — supposedly different from the past 35 years of coverage on the case. However, the show has faced significant backlash, with Erik Menendez himself condemning it as a “dishonest portrayal” that perpetuates harmful characterizations about male sexual abuse victims. 

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It is an unfortunate reality that this failure to accurately represent the complexities of the case is not an isolated incident, but rather part of a long history of systemic failures surrounding the Menendez brothers.

During their trials, the brothers asserted that the murders of their parents were the tragic culmination of years of sexual abuse and torture, inflicted primarily by their father, with their mother complicit in enabling and protecting him. The justice system’s lack of trauma-informed practices led to a focus on the crime itself rather than the underlying causes, creating a narrative of the brothers as brutal killers while ignoring the deep-seated abuse and psychological trauma that shaped their actions.

Judge Stanley M. Weisberg restricted testimony about early childhood trauma, deeming it irrelevant to the brothers’ state of mind at the time of the murders. He also limited the defense’s ability to present mental health expert testimony and precluded self-defense arguments, particularly the “imperfect self-defense” theory. 

The cumulative effect of these constraints stripped away layers of complexity from the brothers’ crime, reducing a multifaceted story of abuse and trauma to a more simplistic tale of premeditated murder, significantly affecting how the brothers were characterized and understood both in the court of law and the public eye.

Public opinion, heavily influenced by sensationalized media coverage and the prosecution’s portrayal of the Menendez brothers as manipulative and deceitful, remained largely unsympathetic to their claims. The prevailing societal attitudes of the time were largely skeptical of male sexual abuse victims. This was best exemplified by a 1993 “Saturday Night Live” skit featuring actors delivering an exaggerated, tear-filled spectacle that mocked the brothers’ testimonies of years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their father.

Nearly four decades after the Menendez brothers’ trial captivated the nation, the narrative surrounding their case remains stubbornly entrenched in its original framing. The recent Netflix production, despite purporting to offer a fresh perspective, has instead perpetuated a deeply flawed portrayal of the brothers. 

The show’s depiction is one of calculated psychosis, neuroticism and emotional detachment, presenting the brothers — especially Lyle — as cold-blooded killers rather than complex individuals shaped by a history of trauma. This reductive portrayal has been further exacerbated by popular media, as evidenced by a recent SNL skit that callously dubbed the brothers “sex symbols.”

For the better part of their formative years, Lyle and Erik Menendez endured years of rape, torture and torment at the hands of their father. As young adults, Lyle and Erik Menendez laid bare incredibly intimate and dehumanizing experiences in a trial where every excruciating detail of their abuse was dissected, scrutinized and broadcast to a voyeuristic public. Now, in their adulthood, Lyle and Erik Menendez carry out their life sentences as the general public gawks and jeers at sensationalized and dramatized retellings of their lives.

Rather than grappling with the psychological horrors that drove two deeply traumatized sons to violence, society has instead feasted on their anguish, reducing their trauma to mere entertainment while deftly evading any introspection or accountability for the systemic failures and societal conditions that precipitated such a tragedy.

With nearly two million citizens incarcerated, the United States justice system exemplifies a punitive model that neglects to address the underlying causes of criminal behavior and prioritizes punishment over prevention. Lyle and Erik Menendez, subjected to years of horrific mistreatment, were held accountable for acts committed in a state of desperation. In a truly equitable system, survivors are protected from such violence and offered pathways to healing rather than being condemned to life imprisonment.

The Menendez brothers’ story is not merely a tale of crime and punishment, but a damning indictment of a system and a society that continues to prioritize sensationalism over empathy, entertainment over understanding and retribution over rehabilitation.