Erik Menendez criticizes Netflix and a Hollywood producer for a new series based on his life.

Menendez, one half of the Menendez brothers who were convicted in 1989 of murdering their parents in their Beverly Hills, California home along with brother Lyle Menendez, spoke out about the series. In a statement shared with his wife, Tammie Menendez called it “a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies” on social media Thursday night.

“I can only believe that they did this on purpose,” he said in the statement. “It is with a heavy heart that I say that I believe Ryan Murphy could not be so naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives to do this without malicious intent.”

He continued: “It’s sad to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crimes has taken the painful truth several steps back in time — back to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that men were not sexually abused and that men experienced rape trauma differently than women.”

Menendez added in his statement that “these horrible lies have been disrupted and exposed over the past two decades by countless brave victims who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out” and that “Murphy shapes his horrible story through disgusting and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and me and disheartening smears.” He later asked “isn’t the truth enough?” and thanked people for their support.

The brothers’ trial attracted U.S. attention at the time. The brothers, who argued that the murders of José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez were the result of years of abuse, were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

The second installment of Netflix’s true-crime anthology series “Monster” was released Thursday, following the success of last year’s similarly controversial “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” which drew widespread criticism from the families of Dahmer’s victims.

Release date, cast and where to watch: ‘Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez’

What happened in the Menendez family murders?

The Menendez brothers’ murders sparked controversy and curiosity about the nature of their crimes.

August marks three decades, 35 years to be exact, since the murders. The brothers were convicted of taking their wealthy parents’ lives with shotguns in the family’s Beverly Hills home. Lyle Menendez, then 21, and his brother Erik Menendez, then 18, shot Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez multiple times, including at close range in the head.

Lyle and Erik alleged at the time that their father, a former executive at RCA Records, physically, sexually and emotionally abused them during their childhood. In “Monsters,” Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch play Lyle and Erik Menendez, respectively.

Oscar winner Javier Bardem plays José Menendez in the Murphy series, while Oscar nominee Chloë Sevigny plays Kitty.

Contributors: Erin Jensen

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Erik Menendez Criticizes Netflix’s ‘Monsters’ for ‘Unfair Portrayal’