One of the subjects of Netflix's latest true-crime drama created by Ryan Murphy has opened up.

On September 19, “Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Eric Menendez” premiered on streaming giant Netflix, and the miniseries about the main siblings who murdered their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, after years of enduring allegations of abuse, became one of the platform's most popular It became one of the platform's most popular programs. Since then, Erik Menendez has condemned the series, produced by Murphy and Ian Brennan.

In a statement written “in Eric's own words” released by his wife, Tami Menendez, on September 19, Menendez's brother blasted Netflix and Murphy for the series and their portrayal of his brother Lyle.

“We believed we had moved past the lies and devastating characterizations of Lyle and created a caricature of Lyle that was rooted in the horrific and blatant lies that were rampant in the show,” the statement begins. 'We can only assume that he did so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say that Ryan Murphy could not be so naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives that he would do this without malice.”

In Monsters, Eric Menendez (played by Cooper Koch) is portrayed as sensitive and shy, while Lyle (Nicholas Chavez) is arrogant and entitled.

Eric's statement of reality was shared the same day the limited series premiered.

Menendez criticized the series' decision to rehash the long-denied stigma of sexual abuse.

“Netflix's dishonest portrayal of the tragedy surrounding our crimes has taken the painful truth a few steps back in time to a time when prosecutors built their stories on a belief system that men do not suffer sexual abuse and that men experience rape trauma differently than women. It saddens me to know that,” the statement continued.

“These terrible lies have been shattered and exposed by countless brave victims over the past two decades who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out.

He added, “Now Murphy is shaping his horrific narrative with vile and horrifying characterizations and demoralizing slurs against Lyle and me.”

Menendez concluded his statement with a message to Murphy, “Is the truth not enough?” He urged, “Let the truth stand as the truth.”

“How demoralizing that one man in power can ruin decades of progress in shedding light on childhood trauma,” he wrote.

“Violence is never the answer, never the solution, and always the tragedy. Never forget that violence against children hides behind the glitter and glamour, creating a hundred horrific silent crime scenes that are seldom exposed until tragedy strikes through everyone involved.”

Menendez concluded by thanking those who “reached out and supported us.”

On September 25, 24 members of the Menendez family also opposed the series, claiming that they had been “victimized” by the program and accusing Murphy of never reaching out to them. Eric's wife, Tami Menendez, posted this joint statement on her X (formerly Twitter) account, calling it “the official response from Joan Vandermolen (Eric's aunt) and the Menendez family.”

After opening the statement by saying that they “pray individually and collectively for [Lyle and Eric's] release after 35 years of incarceration,” the family called “Monsters” “a phobic, gross, anachronistic, serial-episode nightmare that is not only filled with factual errors and outright falsehoods, but also the latest exculpatory He called it “ignoring the facts that should be excused.

The statement went on to call “Monsters” a “grotesque shock drama” and “character assassination,” and specifically condemned the series, including the “debunked Dominick Dunne” P.O.V. He added, “We know what was going on in their homes and the unimaginably turbulent lives they endured.

“It is sad that Ryan Murphy, Netflix, and everyone else involved with this series do not understand the effects of years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse,” the statement concluded.

The Menendezes are not alone in their criticism of the controversial series. During the first weekend of distribution, many viewers took to social media to accuse the show of portraying the relationship between Eric and Lyle, implying that the brothers had an incestuous relationship and sometimes claiming that it downplayed the allegations of abuse the brothers made against their father. Many also pointed to new evidence that has emerged in recent years that allegedly supports the claim that José Menéndez was sexually abused.

The backlash against “Monsters” also sparks controversy over 2022's “Monsters: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” Murphy and Brennan's previous series became one of the most watched series on Netflix, racking up over one billion hours of viewing time and spurring the anthology that spawned “Monsters,” but it also drew intense criticism for revisiting the sensational story of a serial killer It was met with a lot of criticism. Some of the families of Dahmer's victims also claimed to have been traumatized by the series.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on September 23, Murphy refuted Eric's statements and defended “Monsters” for including multiple perspectives on the case.

“I think it's interesting that he made the statement without having seen the show,” Murphy said of Menendez's criticism.

“What he doesn't mention in his quote, which I find interesting, is that when you look at the show, whether it's the script or the film, 60 to 65 percent of our show is centered around the abuse and what they claim happened to them,” he continued. 'And we do it very carefully, we give them their day in court, and they talk openly about it.

“In this time when people can really talk about sexual abuse,” he continued, “to talk about it, to write about it, to write about any viewpoint can be controversial. 'This was a Rashomon kind of approach, and there were four people involved. Two of them died. As storytellers, we were obligated to include their perspectives based on our research.

Murphy also noted the backlash regarding the implicit “romantic relationship” between the brothers.

“What this program does is present the perspectives and theories of many of the people involved in the case. Dominic Dunn (the journalist from Vanity Fair played by Nathan Lane) has written several articles about the theories. We present his point of view just as we present Leslie Abramson's (played by Ari Graynor). And we had an obligation to show all of them, and we did.”