The notorious case of the Menendez brothers has once again captured the world’s interest over three decades later, following the recent release of Ryan Murphy’s controversial biographical crime Netflix series “Monster: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”
This should come as no surprise, with the popularity of true crime growing exponentially in the past decade. Even our university offers space for true crime—my podcast, The Gruesome Gals, is a weekly feature on Belfield FM. While the new series may have become the most streamed Netflix series of September and generated a Dahmer-esque buzz on TikTok, a serious discourse below the buzz must be addressed.
Social media is swirling with Nicholas Chavez’s thirst traps, an unusual obsession with Cooper Koch bearing it all on screen, and viral memes set to the “dimes, dimes, dimes!” soundbite from the show. This reception follows the pattern of Murphy’s previous instalment, “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” centred around the heinous, embellished stories of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. The series inspired Halloween costumes, the viral phrase “I just wanna take some pictures,” and the popularisation of Dahmer-esque glasses. While the two series have ignited similar trends, the Menendez brothers aren’t just killers but also potential victims. This has led to comparisons with Hulu’s “The Act,” a true crime series which depicts the case of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.
While the “Menendez Justice” trend has taken off due to further evidence of the alleged sexual abuse of the brothers by their father, Jose Menendez, some still believe the brothers should remain behind bars. The divide in interpretations of this case may have resulted from the media reporting at the time of the murders.
Lasting Impact of Media
While true crime has been a popular genre in the United States since the 1920s, Los Angeles in the 1990s was the heart of true crime media. At the time, racial tensions were high following the Rodney King Riots, which led to the deaths of over 50 people. These riots arose following Judge Stanley Weisberg’s acquittal of the LAPD officers in the abuse case. This spark of instability led to pressure being felt by prosecutors, and some believe this may have led to bias against the Menendez brothers, as Judge Weisberg was also presiding over their trial. The trial was televised on Court TV, adding additional pressure for the correct verdict to be made. The need for a “good” was highlighted at the time, with the Times Daily reporting that “The verdict was a badly needed victory for District Attorney Gil Garcetti,” noting that Garcetti was involved in other high-profile cases such as Snoop Dogg and O.J. Simpson.
Some also believe that the Menendez brothers’ wealth may have clouded the judgment of the case, especially given the context of the time. This is not a modern take—the Times News reported that “a big bankroll makes that [the brothers’ fear] harder for juries to accept.” This edition of the paper also included mentions of the Rodney King case, further uniting these two situations within the public consciousness.
While the Times News article offers more neutrality, other coverage shows the extreme polarisation of the time. An article by The Item did not care for the “abuse excuse,” stating that “The brothers had all sorts of wild stories about being raped and terrorised by their father while their mother stood idly by.” This unsympathetic tone towards the alleged sexual abuse of the brothers likely links back to the sensationalisation of the time, with frequent mentions of O.J. Simpson throughout the article.
The magnitude of this case is exemplified by The Durant Daily Democrat, reporting that Court-TV received hundreds of complaints for changing their coverage of the Menendez trial to another. This media circus displays not only negative bias against the brothers due to the impact of the O.J. Simpson and Rodney King cases but also a lack of empathy for potential male victims of sexual abuse.
In this case, the level of parasocial obsession has stood the test of time, leaving us only to ask how the media can improve. Erik Menendez has since spoken out via X, with a heartbreaking statement saying, “It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backwards—back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused.”
While this media fanfare created a chance for freedom for the brothers, many have expressed concern that society may not be kind if they are to be released; among them, Gypsy Rose, reported by TMZ. Given her treatment by the media, her concern speaks volumes. Hopefully, the Menendez brothers will receive a fair resentencing. However, we are left to wonder if this exploitation by the media will continue, and will the media influence the verdict again?
By Kelly Smyth—Features Contributor
