‘Monsters’ actor Leslie Grossman says she won’t contact the real-life witness she plays, or visit the killers
Judalon Smyth and Leslie Grossman in “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”
Leslie Grossman said she purposely did not contact Judalon Smyth after being cast to play her in Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”
She said the decision was born of respect for Smyth.
In recent years, true crime series and documentaries have boomed on Netflix and become an integral part of pop culture. According to Netflix’s data, 2022’s “Monster: the Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” the first season of the “Monsters” anthology, is its third-most watched series.
“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” which follows the 1990s trials of Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez for the murder of their parents, saw early success too, topping Netflix’s top 10 charts for two weeks.
The rise of true crime has also sparked controversy, with fans questioning whether the shows’ subjects should be compensated or involved in the project.
In 2022, the families of Dahmer’s victims criticized Netflix for profiting from their trauma. “Monsters” has faced similar accusations from the Menendez family.
Judalon Smyth, played above by Leslie Grossman, was a witness in the Menendez brother’s first trial.
Last week, Grossman told B-17 that she wanted to be “as respectful” of Smyth as possible.
It came after she told People that she would be open to speaking to her but didn’t feel a “strong need.”
“Look, she’s a real human being,” Grossman said to B-17. “This is probably pretty crazy to have this happen to you. And if this was something that she really wanted, of course, I would be open to speaking with her.
“But what I’m not going to do is contact her. I think this would be something she would have to initiate and I’m open to it if this is something she wanted to do.”
In 1990, Smyth reported that the Menendez brothers had confessed to their therapist, Jerome Oziel, that they had murdered their parents, José Menendez and Kitty Menendez. The police had been investigating the case since the parents died in 1989, but this was the lead that helped them arrest Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez.
In 1993, Smyth testified in the case on behalf of the brothers, attacking Oziel’s character by claiming Oziel had raped and drugged her. Oziel denied this.
(Per People, she also made the rape allegation in a 1990 civil case, which led to an out-of-court settlement.)
Grossman said she has no plans to visit the Menendez brothers in prison.
Lyle and Erik Menendez during their trial in 1994.
The brothers were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 but have recently petitioned to appeal their sentence, citing new evidence.
Cooper Koch, who played Erik Menendez in “Monsters,” seems to be the only cast member to meet the real-life subjects of the show.
Last month, Variety reported that Cooper Koch visited the Menendez brothers at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in California with Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, and Khloe Kardashian.
“I got to have a really good conversation with him and tell him that I believe him and I did everything I could as an actor to advocate for him and portray him as authentically as possible, and that I think the show does a really good job of representing him,” Koch told Variety of his meeting with Erik Menendez.
Grossman said she has no plans to visit.
“I am going to echo what Ryan Murphy said, where I think that the show will only benefit those brothers. Otherwise a case that nobody’s thinking about, nobody’s talking about,” Grossman added later in defense of the series.
