Ryan Murphy warns not to 'underestimate' Kim Kardashian
Hollywood producer Ryan Murphy has warned Kim Kardashian's power should not be "underestimated" after she threw her support behind convicted murderers Lyle and Erik Menendez.
Ryan Murphy has warned Kim Kardashian should not be "underestimated" after she threw her support behind convicted murderers Lyle and Erik Menendez.
The story of the brothers - who killed their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez with shotguns at their family home in Beverly Hills in 1989 - has been brought to TV in Murphy's new Netflix drama 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story' and Kim has since written an open letter insisting their life sentences should be "reconsidered".
Now US prosectors are going to be examining the evidence in the case and Murphy - who worked with Kim in 'American Horror Story: Delicate' - insists the reality star's influence should not be played down. He told The Hollywood Reporter: "A month before the show came out, Kim, who’s my friend, called me and asked to see it. I gave her a sneak peek, and she said she had no idea about so much of this stuff. I feel a lot of people feel that way ...
"I love Kim. What she does for prison reform is amazing. I support her 100 per cent."
He went on to add: "She went to that prison to speak to a lot of people, and she met Erik and Lyle. She talked to me about it, and Kim’s point of view is that you shouldn’t throw anybody away in prison forever. There’s always ways of rehabilitation and looking at cases in a new way - particularly if justice has not been allowed.
"I told her to do her thing. She’s passionate about justice for this case - as I think she has been for dozens of others. There’s a great power in her advocacy."
Kim met both brothers behind bars and she is convinced the siblings were not treated fairly because of the amount of media coverage of the first trial - which ended in a mistrial - and rulings by the judge which excluded evidence of claims they were sexually abused by their dad from their second trial in 1996.
In an open letter published online, Kim wrote: "The first trial was televised for all to see, and Erik and Lyle’s case became entertainment for the nation, their suffering and stories of abuse ridiculed in skits on 'Saturday Night Live'.
"The media turned the brothers into monsters and sensationalised eye candy — two arrogant, rich kids from Beverly Hills who killed their parents out of greed. There was no room for empathy, let alone sympathy.
"Erik and Lyle had no chance of a fair trial against this backdrop. Back then, there were limited resources for victims of sexual abuse, particularly for boys. "There were virtually no systems in place to support survivors, and public awareness of the trauma of male sexual abuse was minimal, often clouded by preconceived judgments and homophobia. Can anyone honestly deny that the justice system would have treated the Menendez sisters more leniently?"
In 1996, Lyle and Erik were convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
This week Los Angeles county district attorney George Gascón confirmed the office plans to review evidence in the case after the brothers' attorneys asked a court to vacate their convictions.
Officials will now look over the evidence and make a decision on whether the case should be resentencing. A hearing has been set for November 29.
