Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Crime, Hair, Netflix, TV And Film, True Crime, US News, Menendez Brothers
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Crime, Hair, Netflix, TV And Film, True Crime, US News, Menendez Brothers
Just minutes into the debut episode of The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and viewers have been left horrified by one particular scene involving a toupée.
The recent addition to the controversial Monsters franchise - directed by Ryan Murphy - landed on the streaming service last week (19 September), and, as well as dividing viewers with its disturbing nature, the nine-part series has left many trying to separate the fact from the fiction surrounding Lyle Menendez's hair.
For those unfamiliar with the true-crime drama, it tells the gory story of two Beverly Hills brothers who, back in 1989, brutally murdered their parents José and Mary Louise 'Kitty' Menendez at their home with a shotgun.
Despite initially flying under the radar when it came to police suspicion, the extravagant spending of their inheritance money paired with a confession Erik gave to his therapist meant that the boys were eventually convicted of the crime.
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During the subsequently trial - which was televised on Court TV and became a national sensation - the Menendez brothers broke down in tears when finally admitting the reason behind the close-range killings.
The pair claimed to have acted in self-defence, having been subjected to years of sexual, emotional and physical abuse at the hands of their 'perfectionist' father.
Lyle and Erik added that their mother - allegedly dependent on both alcohol and drugs - was aware of José's abuse.
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One of the several scenes of abuse included in Netflix's recent recreation sees Kitty violently tearing a wig from the head of her eldest son Lyle following an altercation during dinner.
During the row, the mother-of-two - portrayed by Chloë Sevigny in the show - reacts badly after being called a 'hypocrite', after which she leaves viewers in shock by ripping off Lyle's toupée - an event that actually featured in Lyle's testimony.
"Why did the mom snatch Lyle’s toupee off like that at the dinner table …… I was shocked," one admitted on X this week.
Another went on: "The fact that Lyle had a toupee at 21 is crazy and I wonder what caused the extreme hair loss bc he is BALD now."
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An episode later in the series shows José - played by Javier Bardem - call Lyle out for his receding hairline in a board meeting with his business partners, after which he takes him to have a wig fitted.
And later, as the boys are in jail awaiting sentencing, Lyle can be seen making desperate calls to his lawyer for the right hair care to keep his wig in pristine condition.
Having been such a crucial part in the show, viewers have since been left wondering whether the real Lyle Menendez - portrayed by Nicholas Alexander Chavez - really did wear a toupeé in real life.
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According to several sources, he did.
Though onlookers believed that Lyle's early on-set baldness may have been sparked by anxiety caused by his parents' abuse - though, this hasn't been confirmed.
During the trial, Lyle could be seen donning a full head of hair, though this is something he surrendered when he and brother Erik - played by Cooper Koch - were subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Recent photographs of Lyle - who currently remains incarcerated alongside Erik at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego - show that he is now completely bald.
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If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org