Erik Menendez’s wife, Tammi, posted a scathing critique of the Netflix series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” on behalf of the brothers’ aunt, Joan VanderMolen, and the rest of their extended family, Tammi explained in the caption. The family’s statement calls “Monsters” “a phobic, gross, anachronistic, episodic series nightmare that is not only riddled with falsehoods and outright untruths, but also ignores recent exculpatory revelations.”

“We are practically the entire extended family of Erik and Lyle Menéndez,” the statement said. “We are 24 strong and today we want to show the world that we support Erik and Lyle. We pray individually and collectively for their release after spending 35 years in prison. We know them, we love them and we want to bring them home.”

The family’s statement said the Menendez brothers’ relatives were “victims of this grotesque, shocking drama.” It continued: “Murphy claims he spent years researching the case, but ultimately relied on exposed pro-prosecution scribbler Dominick Dunne to justify his slander against us and never spoke to us.”

Dominick Dunne was a reporter for Vanity Fair and covered the Menendez trial in the 1990s. He is played by Nathan Lane in Monsters, which dramatizes the 1989 murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez by their sons Lyle and Erik and the subsequent trials that ended in their conviction in 1996. One of Dunne’s more controversial theories is put forward in Monsters, claiming that Erik and Lyle had an incestuous relationship. A scene in the series shows the brothers showering together.

“The smear campaign against Erik and Lyle, our nephews and cousins, under the guise of a ‘narrative narrative’ is abhorrent,” the family’s statement said. “We know these men. We grew up with them since they were boys. We love them and remain close to them to this day. We also know what went on in their homes and the unimaginably turbulent lives they endured. Some of us were eyewitnesses to many atrocities that should never be witnessed.”

“It’s sad that Ryan Murphy, Netflix and everyone else involved with this show have no understanding of the impact of years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse,” the statement concluded. “Perhaps ‘Monsters’ is ultimately all about Ryan Murphy.”

Shortly after Monsters made its streaming debut on Netflix, Tammi posted a statement from Erik Menendez harshly criticizing the show and calling Murphy’s portrayal of the brothers “naive and inaccurate.” Murphy responded to Entertainment Tonight, “It’s interesting that he made a statement without having seen the show.”

“I think it’s interesting that he doesn’t mention it in his quote. If you look at the show, I would say 60 to 65 percent of our show in the scripts and in the film form is about the abuse and what they say happened to them,” Murphy said. “And we’re very careful about that, giving them their day in court and them talking openly about it.”

Cooper Koch, the actor who plays Erik in the Netflix series, visited the Menendez brothers in prison after the real Erik criticized the show. Koch said in an interview with diversity that he told Eric that it was “understanding that you feel that way.”

“I can’t imagine what it would be like to have the worst part of your life, something so traumatic and tragic, televised for millions of people to see in a dramatized Hollywood television series,” Koch said. “I just said, ‘I understand, I get it, and I stand with you.'”

“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” is now streaming on Netflix.