A timeline of the controversy surrounding 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,' Ryan Murphy's latest Netflix true crime drama

A week before "Monsters" arrived on Netflix, Erik Menendez's wife, Tammi Menendez, wrote on X that the series had "missed the mark." It was unclear if she had seen the show before its release or was responding to the trailer.

She described it as a "train wreck" and "exaggerated and untrue."

On September 19, the day "Monsters" was released, viewers shared their frustrations with the show, particularly over episode seven.

In the series, journalist Dominick Dunne (Nathan Lane) suggests that Kitty Menendez discovered that Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez had an incestuous relationship by walking in on them showering together, and the brothers murdered their parents to hide the secret.

Some subscribers called Murphy out for the storyline because there is no substantial evidence that it is true.

On the day of release, a Facebook account that appeared to be run by Lyle Menendez's family also criticized the incest scenes.

The person running the account wrote: "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. And to put out into the world the absurd notion that the brothers were lovers is the height of pure evil."

In another post later that day, the account claimed Lyle Menendez had not seen the series.

"Just so everyone is clear, like the pinned post says, this is not Lyle posting. THANKFULLY, Lyle does not have Netflix in prison and cannot watch this abject trash," they said.

Business Insider contacted the account to verify if it is run by a relative of Lyle Menendez.

Tammi Menendez shared a statement from her husband, in which he described the show's depiction of his brother as a "caricature."

He also criticized Murphy and the way he "shapes his horrible narrative through vile an appalling character portrayals of Lyle and me and disheartening slander."

It's unclear whether Erik Menendez has watched the show.

Commenting on Erik Menendez's statement, Murphy told Entertainment Tonight on September 23: "I think it's interesting that he's issued a statement without having seen the show. It's really, really hard — if it's your life — to see your life up on screen.

He added: "If you watch the show, I would say 60 to 65 percent of the scripts, and the film form, center around the abuse and what they claim happened to them. And we do it very carefully and we give them their day in court and they talk openly about it.

Referring to a 1950s Japanese crime thriller that tells the story of a murder from different perspectives, Murphy added: "It's a 'Rashomon' kind of approach, where there were four people involved in that. Two of them are dead. What about the parents? We had an obligation as storytellers to also try and put in their perspective based on our research, which we did."

Asked about the romantic relationship between the brothers in the show, Murphy said: "If you watch the show, what the show is doing is presenting the points of view and theories from so many people who were involved in the case."

On September 23, Netflix announced that a new documentary where the brothers give their side of the story would arrive on the streamer on October 7.

In the first trailer for "The Menendez Brothers," the pair say that "so much hasn't been told" about their lives, the Menendez family, and the murders.

Cooper Koch, who plays Erik Menendez in "Monsters," told Variety on September 25 that he "absolutely does not" believe that the brothers had a secret physical relationship. "I do not think that's true," he said.

He added: "And I don't think it was intended by the show to make or break that truth. I think that was just a theory that one person had and that got put into the show because that person was a character in the show.

"I stand with Eric and everything that he says in his testimony I believe to be his truth, and I believe him."

Referring to Erik Menendez, Javier Bardem, who plays Jose Menendez in the series, told Variety: "I know he has spoken, but I haven't read it. But of course it's absolutely normal, logical and legitimate to say what you think about your own life being on a show. I support that.

"Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan give different perspectives, different views of the same issue because nothing is set in stone. That also includes the way to perform the character. We have to be open as actors to play and shift from one perspective to the other, depending on who is telling the story."

Tammi Menendez posted a statement from Joan VanderMolen, the brothers' aunt, and the rest of the Menendez family on September 26.

In it, the family called the Netflix series "repulsive" accused Murphy of carrying out a "character assassination" of the brothers.

The family ended the statement by accusing Murphy and Netflix of not understanding the ramifications of abuse, and said: "Perhaps, after all, 'Monsters' is all about Ryan Murphy."

Murphy doubled down on his defense of the show in an interview with Variety published on September 26. He described the family's response as "predictable," adding he wanted them to be specific about what they "think is shocking."

He said: "It's all been presented before. What we're doing is we're the first to present it in one contained ecosystem. What's grotesque about it? … Tammi [and] the family, they have always done this and they did this recently — they say, 'lies after lies' — but then they don't say what the lies are. They don't back up anything."

Murphy added that the series is "the best thing that has happened to the Menendez brothers in 30 years" and noted that it has brought their case back into the spotlight.

He said: "They are now being talked about by millions of people all over the world. There's a documentary coming out into two weeks about them, also on Netflix.

"And I think the interesting thing about it is it's asking people to answer the questions, 'Should they get a new trial? Should they be let out of jail? What happens in our society? Should people be locked away for life? Is there no chance ever at rehabilitation?'

"I'm interested in that, and a lot of people are talking about it. We're asking really difficult questions, and it's giving these brothers another trial in the court of public opinion. From what I can tell, it's really opened up the possibility that this evidence that they claim that they have, maybe that there is going to be a way forward for them."

Leslie Grossman, who played Judalon Smyth in the series, echoed Murphy's defense, and told People on September 30: "As the creators have said about the show, they're making a painting, not a documentary. So, it isn't a documentary retelling of this story.

"It's sort of a Rashomon mix of all these different people's perspectives."

Grossman said there was a "lot of research" done before "Monsters" was written and that Brennan, Murphy, and the creative team took "painstaking care" when creating the show.

"The show is really about shining a spotlight on sexual abuse and particularly, the sexual abuse of boys and men and its lingering effects," she said. "I think the series just tries to show all the points of view, you know what I mean? And then it's ultimately for the audience to decide what they think about this."

Smyth was in a relationship with the brothers' therapist, Dr. Jerome Oziel, at the time of the murders.

Oziel told Smyth that the brothers had admitted to the crime but asked her to keep it a secret. After Oziel broke up with Smyth, she told the police and said the therapist had an audio recording of the brothers' confession. This led to their arrest.

Smyth was also one of the major witnesses in the brothers' first court trial.

Grossman told People she had not met Smyth, but would be willing to if she reached out.

"I don't have some strong need to connect with a person that I played. But if they really felt strongly about meeting me, I'd be definitely open to it," she said.

A day later, Murphy doubled down on his previous comments, and told the Hollywood Reporter: "The Menendez brothers should be sending me flowers. They haven't had so much attention in 30 years. And it's gotten the attention of not only this country, but all over the world.

"There's sort of an outpouring of interest in their lives and in the case. I know for a fact that many people have offered to help them because of the interest of my show and what we did."

Murphy added that he wasn't expecting a positive response from the Menendez brothers or their wives and lawyers.

Murphy said: "We had an obligation to so many people, not just to Erik and Lyle. But that's what I find so fascinating; that they're playing the victim card right now — 'poor, pitiful us' — which I find reprehensible and disgusting."

Murphy added later that he doesn't plan to watch Netflix's upcoming documentary about the brothers.

"I really did say everything I had to say about them, and there's nothing they can tell me that I feel I don't know. I know what their perspective is," Murphy said. "I was never that interested in the Menendez brothers. What I was interested in was the topic of sexual abuse. I was interested in, specifically, the topic of male sexual abuse, and I wanted to talk about it."

Murphy added: "In my own life, so many people have reached out to me who I didn't even know were sexually abused. Our show gave them a way to have a conversation. And for that, I am tremendously proud."