Current:Home > ScamsErik Menendez's Attorney Speaks Out on Ryan Murphy's Monsters Show -ClearPath Finance
Erik Menendez's Attorney Speaks Out on Ryan Murphy's Monsters Show
View
Date:2025-04-14 22:58:48
Erik Menendez’s longtime attorney is speaking out amid the success of Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix drama.
While Leslie Abramson—who represented Erik in the 1990s when he and his brother, Lyle Menendez, were tried for the 1989 murder of their parents—is depicted as one of the brothers’ most staunch defenders in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the retired defense attorney revealed she had no desire to watch the series.
“That piece of s--t I heard about? No,” she said in a video published by Entertainment Tonight Oct. 9. “I don’t watch any of those.”
“I will make no comments about my client,” she added. “None whatsoever.”
The 81-year-old—who is played by Ari Graynor in the anthology series—said she also opted not to watch the previous dramatization of the case, 2017’s Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, in which she’s portrayed by Edie Falco. (The actress later received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for the role.)
Leslie did, however, give a written statement about the brothers—who are both serving life sentences without parole—in the new documentary The Menendez Brothers, also streaming on Netflix.
“30 years is a long time,” she said in an email shown in the doc. “I’d like to leave the past in the past. No amount of media, nor teenage petitions will alter the fate of these clients. Only the court can do that and they have ruled.”
The release of Monsters helped fuel renewed interest in the brothers’ case, as social media users have called for their convictions to be overturned. Most recently, they’ve zeroed in on the emergence of potential new evidence which could support the brothers’ allegation of physical and sexual abuse by their father, José Menendez.
Kim Kardashian, who visited the Menendezes at their San Diego prison in September, wrote in an essay published by NBC News that the brothers deserve a new trial.
“I have spent time with Lyle and Erik; they are not monsters,” the Kardashians star said in the op-ed. “They are kind, intelligent, and honest men.”
“I don’t believe that spending their entire natural lives incarcerated was the right punishment for this complex case,” she added. “Had this crime been committed and trialed today, I believe the outcome would have been dramatically different.”
Cooper Koch, who played the role of Erik in Monsters and accompanied Kim on her visit, also spoke out in support of the brothers.
“They committed the crime when they were 18 and 21 years old,” he told Variety last month, “and at the time, it was really hard for people to believe that male-on-male sexual abuse could occur, especially with father and son.”
He continued, “I really do hope that they are able to get paroled and have an amazing rest of their lives.”
E! News has reached out to lawyers for Erik and Lyle Menendez for comment but hasn’t heard back.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (383)
Related
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Prosecutors seek Jan. 2 trial date for Donald Trump in his 2020 election conspiracy case
- Coal miners say new limits on rock dust could save some lives
- Prosecutors won’t seek death penalty for woman accused of killing, dismembering parents
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- 3 hunters found dead in underground reservoir in Texas were trying to rescue dog, each other
- John Anderson: The Wealth Architect's Journey from Wall Street to Global Dominance
- New book claims Phil Mickelson lost over $100M in sports bets, wanted to wager on Ryder Cup
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- AP-Week in Pictures: Aug. 3 - Aug. 10, 2023
Ranking
- Everything Simone Biles did at the Paris Olympics was amplified. She thrived in the spotlight
- Don't call it 'vegan' and other tips from hospitals to get people to eat less meat
- 'Billions' is back: Why Damian Lewis' Bobby Axelrod returns for the final Showtime season
- Iraq bans the word homosexual on all media platforms and offers an alternative
- Olympic disqualification of gold medal hopeful exposes 'dark side' of women's wrestling
- Will 'Red, White & Royal Blue' be your cup of tea?
- Another Threshold candle recall? Target recalls 2.2 million products over burn and laceration risks
- Assassination of Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio blamed on organized crime
Recommendation
Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
James Williams: The Crypto Visionary's Journey to Pioneering Digital Currency Investment
Jury awards family of New York man who died after being beaten by police $35 million in damages
Millions of kids are missing weeks of school as attendance tanks across the US
The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
Jason Momoa 'devastated' by Maui wildfires; Oprah Winfrey hands out supplies
San Francisco 49ers almost signed Philip Rivers after QB misfortune in NFC championship
John Anderson: The Rise of a Wealth Architect