Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story creator Ryan Murphy is revealing new details about how Kim Kardashian got involved with the case of Lyle and Erik Menendez.
Murphy, who co-created and directed the fictionalized account of the case for Netflix, spoke at Netflix’s FYC panel on November 2 in Los Angeles.
Murphy said that Kardashian reached out to him prior to the show’s release.
“Kim Kardashian called me a month before the show came out and asked to see it, and I said, sure, she’s a friend, and she is somebody who’s very into prison reform, and she instantly got involved, and the DA and the governor’s office were flooded with a lot of reactions from people who had big opinions about the show,” said Murphy, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Murphy continued on about the impact that the show has had on culture, and on the real-life evolving case of the Mendendez brothers.
“I do think it led to something interesting, and more important to me, when you make something, whether people love it or hate it, is beside the point, does it launch a conversation about something? I think the show definitely did that in a way that [co-creator] Ian [Brennan] and I were very proud of.”
Since the release of Monsters, new developments in the real-life case of the Menendez brothers have made headlines.
On October 28, the Menendez brothers’ legal team requested clemency for their clients, who were convicted on murder charges in 1996. The siblings were accused in the murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.
The Menendez brothers have also received public celebrity support from Kardashian. The entrepreneur and reality star has been a long-time advocate for prison reform. On October 3, Kardashian published an opinion piece for NBC News, advocating for their release.
In her essay, Kardashian detailed time that she spent with the brothers.
“I have spent time with Lyle and Erik; they are not monsters. They are kind, intelligent, and honest men. In prison, they both have exemplary disciplinary records. They have earned multiple college degrees, worked as caregivers for elderly incarcerated individuals in hospice, and been mentors in college programs — committed to giving back to others,” she wrote.
Kardashian also has a childhood connection to the Menendez brothers — their house was not far from hers growing up. In an April “ Variety Actors on Actors” conversation with Monsters star Chloe Sevigny, she reflected on this.
“I grew up right down the street from the house where it all happened, and everyone went to the same schools,” she said. “I remember hearing about the case, but my dad drove me by the house and told me the story.”
