The seemingly unending drama around Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story continues to unfold, with the namesake brothers now reportedly being eyed for a role in a reality show if they’re released from prison.
The Ryan Murphy-created series — which dramatizes the sibling duo’s infamous murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menedez, in 1989 — has spawned controversy from the get-go, with both audiences and the Menendez family themselves denouncing the show upon its release last month.
On behalf of the brothers, the Menendez family released a statement condemning the show’s portrayal of Lyle and describing it on the whole as “grotesque shockadrama.” Yikes.
Then, Murphy claimed the brothers should be “sending me flowers” for all the attention the show has gotten them (they can’t source roses in prison) before Kim Kardashian got involved by visiting Erik and Lyle in prison with Cooper Koch, who portrays Erik.
It doesn’t stop there. So popular was Monsters that it seemingly led to the brothers’ case being reopened some 35 years after they were convicted, with prosecutors this month committing to a hearing around whether they should be released from prison or have their sentences shortened.
Now, arriving like a cherry on top of all this hullabaloo, the brothers are supposedly being considered for a spot on Dancing With Stars in the event they’re released from prison. If a convicted murder duo somehow finding their way on a campy reality show isn’t the clearest sign of our times, then I don’t know what is.
According to reports, producers of the hit competition show — which sees D-list celebrities try (and often fail) to showcase their dancing chops — are eager to sign the Menendez brothers on to whichever season follows their potential prison release.
Sources told The Daily Mail that DWTS bosses have “discussed the possibility” of enlisting the siblings for the show, saying that if they are released from prison, “they will be looking to make money.” The insiders also said that the show is known for “chasing stunt casting like this” and are well aware that it would result in a “ratings bonanza.”
“The story would be captivating, along with talk of redemption on the show,” the source added. Fans of DWTS will know of the “stunt casting” the source speaks of, particularly as it relates to celebrities like Erik and Lyle with criminal histories.
The most recent season of the reality show featured infamous con artist Anna Delvey (who performed with her ankle monitor on for a high camp masterclass), but she’s not the only ex-con who has strutted their stuff on the ballroom floor.
Real Housewives star and mail fraudster Teresa Giudice, suspended Olympian and vandal Ryan Lochte, and rapper and perjurer Lil Kim are just a few people with criminal histories who’ve appeared on DWTS over the years. Delvey and Lochte’s casting was particularly controversial, with protestors storming the DWTS stage during the latter’s brief stint on the show in season nine.
I imagine a similar level of fanfare would erupt if Erik and Lyle found themselves on the ballroom floor, but perhaps they should just focus on getting out of prison first.
