Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story draws social media criticism for incestuous kiss

Trigger warning: This article mentions sexual abuse.

Following in the footsteps of the controversial first season centered on Jeffrey Dahmer, the new season of Ryan Murphy's Monster anthology series has already caught heat after one day of release.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was released on Netflix on Sept. 19 and reached the peak of the top 10 most popular shows ranking within hours. The new season of the true crime anthology series presents the retelling of the Menendez brothers' murders of their parents and the resulting trial that put them in jail for life without parole.

Naturally, with how previous Murphy-produced series have adapted true stories with some creative liberties taken, the reaction to the Menendez brothers being the subject of the second season of Monsters gave some pause. How much care would be taken in telling their story, and would any editorializing or sensationalism overshadow the show's heavy themes?

Social media speaks up against Monsters kiss

Well, even if the series manages to successfully tell a complex story from multiple points of view, there's a scene social media users have taken issue with. In the second episode of Monsters, Lyle (Nicholas Chavez) and Erik (Cooper Koch) are staying in a hotel after their parents' deaths and are spending money. When Erik calls in a conservative room service order, Lyle essentially tells his brother to live it up and kisses him on the lips.

Right before the kiss takes place in the scene, Lyle had been in the other room snorting cocaine, which accounts for his wired behavior in the scene in the first place. Now, that's no defense, but it's simply added context. Currently, it's unclear what the intent behind the kiss was and how it came to be part of this scene, but it has understandably and rightfully rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

On the day of the show's release, a post on X (formerly Twitter) shared a clip of the scene with the caption, "Of course, it's a Ryan Murphy production." The video clip of the scene has obtained 13 million views and counting and thousands of likes, reposts, quotes, and responses combined. Since going viral, the clip has prompted social media users to express their reaction.

One of the most-liked reactions with 64K likes and rising says, "The Menendez brothers were victims of sexual abuse who finally retaliated against their abusers and this disgusting piece of trash has turned their story into an incestuous fanfic." Another user responded to the original post with, "Makes me sick thinking of how they became a joke in the nineties when new evidence has shown it is very likely they were sexually abused by their father."

Early teasers for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story included Chavez and Koch shirtless as Lyle and Erik hugging each other, which already had people concerned about what the show could potentially include. The poster, too, featured the characters shirtless. For one user, that concern came to fruition: "I f--king knew it was gonna be written like this when I saw the cover being them shirtless and on one another ew."

Alleged response from Erik Menendez and family

According to a report from The Tab, Erik Menendez allegedly released a statement about "the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle" via social media accounts believed to belong to his wife Tammi Saccoman (Menendez). (An officially verified response will likely follow.)

The conversation surrounding this moment in the series is sensitive because it's dealing with real people and their trauma surrounding sexual abuse from their parents. The Menendez family has responded to the scenes in the series depicting incestuous moments between the brothers, calling it "the height of pure evil."

Unsurprisingly, the response isn't unlike what we watched unfold after Netflix released Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story two years ago.

If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse or assault, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org.

Watch Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story only on Netflix.