Ryan Murphy is known for successfully adapting true crime stories and high-profile events, which often sparks controversy with the subjects of his shows.
Murphy’s expansive TV world began with shows like Nip/Tuck, Glee and American Horror Story. As his success grew, he ventured into projects focusing on real events — starting with American Crime Story. This anthology series has covered O.J. Simpson’s murder trial, the murder of Gianni Versace and the sex scandal involving former President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.
Following that, Murphy developed the American Sports Story spinoff, which in its first season, explored the story of former NFL player Aaron Hernandez. Murphy’s most debated spinoff is the Monster anthology series. The 2022 limited series, focusing on Evan Peters‘ interpretation of Jeffrey Dahmer, was met with criticism from the victims’ families.
Meanwhile, Peters spoke about the mental toll of playing the challenging role. “I’m going to take a little break from darker roles and explore the light,” he told Variety in December 2022. “It would be interesting to me to play something that is a little closer to home, a little more mundane and to explore the details of those kinds of experiences.”
Season 2 also faced controversy after Erik Menendez criticized Murphy’s representation of him and his brother, Lyle Menendez. Murphy defended his work, suggesting that Monsters reignited support in the Menendez case, which led to them being resentenced to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law.
Keep reading for a summary of instances where a show’s subject spoke out against Murphy — and his responses:
‘American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson’
Ray Mickshaw/FX
The People v. O.J. Simpson revisited the athlete’s highly publicized trial following his 1994 arrest and charge in the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman. In a famous verdict, O.J. was acquitted of the murders in 1995, but found responsible for Ron and Nicole’s deaths in a civil trial three years later.
Brown and Goldman’s families criticized American Crime Story for not consulting them. Former detective Mark Fuhrman, who was involved in the case, also claimed his depiction was false.
‘American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace’
FX
In January 2018, the Versace family released a statement addressing the show, “The Versace family has neither authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming TV series about the death of Mr. Gianni Versace. Since Versace did not authorize the book on which it is partly based nor has it taken part in the writing of the screenplay, this TV series should only be considered as a work of fiction.”
Murphy defended his show by supporting the journalist whose work influenced the project.
“The book that we based our show off of, that we own, Vulgar Favors by Maureen Orth, has been out for nearly 20 years,” he said in a statement that same month. “And it’s a work of nonfiction. It’s been scrutinized and vetted for close to two decades. And a lot of if not all of Maureen’s reporting in that book was on the record, and it’s been sourced out, and we had our own sources.”
‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’
Ser Baffo/Netflix
Netflix’s hit show premiered in 2022 and centered on Peters’ portrayal of Dahmer. Monster, which also starred Niecy Nash, faced criticism after families of Dahmer’s victims said they weren’t consulted for the show.
Eric Perry, a relative of victim Errol Lindsey, stated in September 2022 that the show was “retraumatizing [the families] all over again.”
“I want people to understand this is not just a story or historical fact, these are real people’s lives,” the statement continued. “[Lindsey] was someone’s son, someone’s brother, someone’s father, someone’s friend that was ripped from [our] lives.”
Murphy previously stated that he and his team reached out to over 20 victims’ families and friends during their three and a half years of research, and “not a single person responded to us in that process.” He further explained in a November 2022 profile that he took on Dahmer’s story to address the racism and homophobia in the case because “it was the biggest thing I’ve ever seen that really sort of examines how easy it is to get away with things with the white privilege aspects.”
“What are the rules now? Should we never do a movie about a tyrant?” he questioned.
‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’
Miles Crist/Netflix
Upon the premiere of Monsters in September 2024, episodes 4 and 5 were praised for their handling of Erik and Lyle’s claims that they killed their parents in self-defense following years of alleged abuse. However, the show was criticized for inaccuracies about the Menéndez brothers, including the insinuation of an incestuous relationship.
“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show,” read a statement from Erik shared via Lyle’s Facebook page. “I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
Meanwhile, Murphy questioned the backlash against the show after it contributed to renewed public support for the Menendez case. “We gave them their moment in the court of public opinion,” he told Variety one month later. “Basically, we did give them a platform.”
Murphy and the Menendez brothers worked out their issues with the show as the inmates successfully sought resentencing.
