Maybe murder isn’t as black and white as we once thought. Lifetime premiered the Menendez: Blood Brothers documentary on June 11, which has now left thousands of viewers standing in the grey area of the law. Lyle, 49, and Erik Menendez, 46, killed their wealthy, Beverly Hills-bred parents, Jose and Mary “Kitty,” in 1989 by using a shotgun — but are they really the biggest monsters in this case? During their trial in 1994, the brothers claimed that their parents sexually and psychologically abused them for years. The alleged suffering grew too intense to the point where Lyle and Erik drew blood. Their allegations were rejected by jurors, and the brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Lifetime‘s documentary is probably the first time that empathy has shined on the brother’s case. There are even some people in the movie industry who believe they should walk free. Nico Tortorella, who played Lyle, says they should at least get a second chance in front of a judge. “The judge ruled the sexual abuse case impossible between two men, sexual abuse had to be between a man and a woman and that is absolutely disgusting and that is the only saving grace for them to go back to retrial,” he explained to E!. “I really do hope that this shines a light on this case in a way that hasn’t been seen before.”
Like Nico, hundreds of Twitter users are beginning to wonder if Kitty and Jose were the ones to be put on trial. “Their father was disgusting,” one wrote. “My God, if it really went down like the way Lifetime is portraying it, this is sad all the way around,” another added. “Just started and I can already see their dad is an a**hole.” Many were quick to point out that male rape wasn’t treated the same way in the 90’s as it is now, which is a fair point. The line is extremely blurred to say to least.
Things are not as perfect as they seem. #MenendezBrothers pic.twitter.com/lniJGaLMM8
— Lifetime (@lifetimetv) June 12, 2017
HollywoodLifers, where do you fall on this scale of right and wrong? Who’s the real victim?