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

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.

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.