Shirtless and Bloody, Erik and Lyle Menendez Embrace in a Trailer for Ryan Murphy's Series

After the success of Ryan Murphy's Dahmer series, the man who brought the world both Glee and American Horror Story turned his eyes to an American tragedy. In September 2024, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story drops on Netflix and will undoubtedly put some interesting spins on a well-trodden true crime story.

A teaser trailer for the series was released in August 2024, and has managed to cause quite the stir on social media. Not only do we get a brief glimpse of the actors playing the brothers and their parents, but we also see Erik and Lyle in a rather intimate light. This has led to many people wondering if the Menendez brothers are gay. And while we do not speculate about sexuality at Distractify, there is some source material that Murphy could be using that might support this theory.

In a June 1996 interview with Barbara Walters, Erik was asked if he was gay. He said he was not. Lyle was involved with a woman named Anna Eriksson who he would eventually marry then divorce. As of August 2024, both men are still in prison and are married to women. Beyond the teaser trailer's polarizing imagery, this rumor might have started with the late Dominick Dunne who covered their trial for Vanity Fair.

In a 2017 biography about Dunne titled Money, Murder, and Dominick Dunne, author Robert Hofler claims that Dunne became rather fixated on Erik during the trial. It all started when for one brief moment, Dunne thought maybe, just maybe, the brothers were innocent. It happened on Sept. 11, 1993, when Lyle Menendez took the stand for the first time, and alleged he and Erik were sexually assaulted by their father Jose Menendez.

Tears pouring down his face, Lyle described in detail what his father did and how Jose believed it was a way to bond with his sons. He then revealed that the pattern of abuse continued as Lyle admitted to sexually abusing Erik. "I don’t understand why, and I’m sorry," he screamed while looking at his brother. This testimony was what gave Dunne pause, and eventually he grew to identify with Erik.

Prosecutor Pamela Bozanich once told Dunne that, "There was a strain of homosexuality running through the trial." She also said, "We knew Erik was gay and having oral sex with the inmates." Dunne himself hid his homosexuality and like Erik, was raised by an overbearing father. This fed Dunne's fascination with Erik who at one point, had racy photos taken by photographer Philip Kearney. He later said their relationship was "more physical than it was spiritual." Massages would often lead to other things.

In Dunne's biography, Hofler also says that Dunne made copies of a shirtless photo taken of Erik during those sessions. According to Hofler, Dunne would often take them out and show them to people. "He could be a Calvin Klein model," Dunne reportedly said. Perhaps Ryan Murphy will be drawing on these stories for his series, though no one has suggested Erik and Lyle were physical with each other beyond the sexual assault alleged by Lyle on the stand.

Several photos of the Menendezes were used during the trial. One was a portrait of the whole family taken in 1988, a year before the murders. In it, Jose, Lyle, and Erik are wearing dark suit jackets with khaki pants. The boys sport red ties while Jose chose a striped tie. Kitty has on a red blouse. Everyone is smiling but no one is touching. Knowing what we know now makes the photograph darker than it might actually have been.

The teaser trailer begins with this picture being taken. As Jose and Kitty get up and leave, Erik and Lyle remain standing a few feet apart. Suddenly a flash goes off, and the image changes to the brothers standing in a dark room. They are shirtless and facing each other, as they move into an intimate embrace. Suddenly the sound of a gunshot adds blood to Lyle's face as a voice says, "It's just us now. We're on our own."